The year of FIFA World Cup is upon us, with Brazil getting ready to host, and Japan scheduled to go head-to-head against Cote d¡¯Ivoire, Greece and Colombia in June for a spot in the final 16. If six months is too long to wait, though, check out the ancient sport of kemari, to be held in Kyoto¡¯s Shimogamo Shrine on Jan. 4.
Kemari, which originated in China, was a sport popular among Japanese court nobles in the seventh century. It later spread to other classes. In a match, participants take positions in a garden and use their feet to keep a deer-skin ball from touching the ground until a player finally drops it.
While this kind of footie is far less physical than today¡¯s competitive soccer, FIFA acknowledges kemari as the ancient predecessor of its sport.
If soccer isn¡¯t really your thing, don¡¯t worry ¡ª the first kemari event of the year, referred to as kemari-hajime, has all the players wearing colorful ancient uniforms, hats and shoes, which should make it an entertaining game to watch.
The Kemari-Hajime event takes place at Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto on Jan. 4 from 1:30 p.m. Entrance is free, but for ?2,000 you can enjoy the best view of the match from one of the special seats. For more details, contact 075-781-0010 or visit .
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