Kemari
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kemari (Japanese: 蹴鞠) is a form of football that was popular in Japan during the Heian Period. Kemari has been revived in modern times .
The game appears to have been influenced by the Chinese sport of Cuju, and was introduced to Japan in about 600 AD, during the Asuka period. After that, tsu chu and related games declined in popularity in China and Southeast Asia, until only kemari remained.
Kemari is a very physical sport; it is a whole body exercise for all ages. It is somewhat unique among sports, as it does not have winners, losers, or competition between players.
The object of Kemari is to keep one ball in the air, with all players cooperating to do so. The ball, known as a Mari, is made of deerskin with the hair facing inside and the hide on the outside. The ball is stuffed with barley grains to give it shape. When the hide has set in this shape, the grains are removed from the ball, and it is then sewn together using the skin of a horse. The one who kicks the ball is called a mariashi. A good mariashi makes it easy for the receiver to control the mari, and serves it with a soft touch to make it easy to keep the mari in the air.
Kemari is played on a flat ground, about 15 meters long. The uniforms that the players wear are reminiscent of the clothes of the Asuka age and include a crow hat. This type of clothing was called kariginu and it was not fashionable at that time.
[edit] Kemari in fiction
- InuYasha mentions that he played Kemari when he was little, in the third movie, Swords of an Honorable Ruler
- In Samurai Warriors Xtreme Legends, Yoshimoto Imagawa uses a Kemari as one of his weapon along with his katana.
