Japanese Sports

History of Sports in Japan

The earliest sports in Japan were most likely archery and hunting. Kemari is known to have been played in Asuka period and Sumo may be even older, perhaps used to settle disputes between villages. Falconry also began in the Asuka period, heavily influenced by Mongolian practices.

Sumo shows an important side of traditional Japanese sport, a religious occasion as well as a sporting event. Many sumo rituals are closely associated with Shinto belief. It is believed that some of ancient sumo matches were a purely religious event with a predetermined outcome as an offering to kami. Some matches were done as a divination. For example, if a fisherman and farmer held a match and fisherman won, a good catch was predicted for that year.