Kemari - Definition and Overview

Kemari is a sport that was popular in Japan in the Heian Age.

Kemari was introduced to Japan from China about 1400 years ago during the Asuka age of Japan. After that, kemari declined in popularity in China and Southeast Asia, so it was only fully developed in Japan.

Kemari is a very good physical exercise as an athletic sport and it is a whole body exercise for all ages. This sport is very unique among all the other sports since it did not have the competition for winning or losing.

Kemari is a sport to keep one ball in the air and the players did their best in doing so. The ball, known as a Mari, is made of deerskin with the hair facing inside and the hide on the outside, and the ball is stuffed with barley grains to give it shape. When the ball has its 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. The good mariashi did not make the receiver have difficulty to control the mari and he was to serve the ball to the receiver in a very soft touch so that the receiver could keep the Mari easily 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 Asuma age and include a crow hat. This type of cloth was called kariginu and it was a sporty cloth at that time.

• Kemari is also the name of a town in Karachi