Pop Japan

Before it became a non-competitive ball sport, Japan's kemari was originally a traditional ball game.

It is said that the first appearance of kemari could have been in the year 644 AD, during the Asuka Period. The ball game was said to have come from a similar ball game in China called the cuju. 

The ball is like the present day football or soccer wherein players cannot use their arms and hands to keep the ball in the air. Rules can change depending on the occasion but most of the time, players can only use their knees, elbows, back, feet and their heads.

Photo by radBeattie at English Wikipedia. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

Tags: japan, kemari, sport, traditional ball game, asuka period, football, soccer, china, cuju ball game