Sitting quietly in the mountains of Nara Prefecture is Tanzan Shrine, the home of this spring/autumn festival. Deep in roots, this festival brings back to life a game called kemari that the royal family members used to play 1,400 years ago.

Tanzan Shrine is where the soul of Fujiwara Kamatari—founder of Japanese politics in the seventh century—is enshrined. Fujiwara was planning a political reform with the emperor of the time, and it was through kemari that the two met.

The game kemari came to Japan through China. The object is to keep a leather ball called mari from touching the ground using only one's feet, like juggling or lifting in Western football/soccer. At this festival, viewers can join in on the fun after viewing the official performers.