LANGUAGE CORNER
French Calendar
NOVEMBER EVENTS
Paris Photo (9-12 November 2023)
Paris Photo is the largest international art fair dedicated to the photographic medium and is held each November in the heart of Paris. The next edition of Paris Photo will be held November 9 through 12, 2023 at the Grand Palais Éphémère, designed by the architects Wilmotte & Associés.
The event offers a selection of photo-based artworks from galleries alongside a public programme of exhibitions, prizes, art signings and talks.
The Fair currently presents four exhibition sections: the main section with solo and group shows and thematic projects, the prisms section devoted to large-format series and installation works, the video section with moving images, and the book section with publishers and dealers.
La fête du Beaujolais Nouveau (16 November 2023)
The New Beaujolais Festival is celebrated throughout France on the third Thursday in November every year, the date when wine-making finishes and the new wine can be sold.
A vibrant, fruit-forward wine, Beaujolais Nouveau is created through carbonic maceration, a method during which whole red grapes rest inside a tank with carbon dioxide, triggering fermentation to begin within the uncrushed grapes. The technique yields wines with a light, refreshing flavour profile.
Japanese Calendar
NOVEMBER EVENTS
Gion Odori - November 1-10
Kyoto’s Gion Odori is a performance by the geiko (geisha) and maiko (apprentice geisha) of the Gion Higashi district. It’s the only one of the annual odori events to take place in fall, and just as the leaves begun to change color.
Gion Odori is held in November at Gion Kaikan, near Yasaka Shrine. It was first held in 1894 and is one of Kyoto’s longest-running shows. The performance is also one of the smallest and a great opportunity to see maiko and geiko perform up close.
Arashiyama Momiji Matsuri - Mid November
Celebrate the autumn leaves at this annual festival in one of the most beautiful spots of Kyoto. On the river around Togetsu Bridge, boats will parade through with elaborately dressed characters reflecting the nobles of the Heian Period. The noblemen and women will perform from the boats, playing traditional instruments as well as performing Noh and Kyogen.
Tokushima Yokai Matsuri - Mid November
The Tokushima Yokai (monster) Matsuri is a unique event that takes place at Kamimyo Elementary School near the somewhat remote Hiraga Shrine in Miyoshi, Tokushima Prefecture – a town that is famous for Yokai.
If you’re not a yokai-culture, manga or anime devotee, then you might be unfamiliar with these monsters. Yokai are supernatural monsters that come from Japanese folklore.
The festival will feature local delicacies as well as a march of the Yokai, a Yokai Mikoshi procession and a band made up of, you guessed it, Yokai.
Fukuoka November Grand Sumo Tournament - November 12-26
Held every November, this is the final of Japan’s six annual Sumo Tournaments, known as honbasho. With sumo rankings released a few weeks before, it’s a chance to see the traditional sport up close and personal. While the fights are broadcast on NHK, nothing beats the atmosphere of the tense final matches of the day, complete with cushion-throwing and cheers.
