page_title: Dakyu
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Dakyu / History
caption_attribution_description: 中文: 明皇击鞠图
context_page_description: Dakyu is an equestrian sport in East Asia with some similarities to polo.
  It also goes by the name of Kyuk Koo in Korea since the Hanzi character 擊 is transliterated as: gyeok Korean: 격; RR: gyeok or geki and carries the same meaning as the Chinese: 打, which translates as: to beat, to strike, or to hit. As one might expect, 毬 translates to ball.
context_section_description: Originally from China, dakyu was played in Japan as early as the Nara period, making its way there via the Korean Peninsula. It remained popular amongst the aristocracy until the Kamakura period, when it gradually died out (the last recorded game being in 986).
  In the eighteenth century the game reappeared, largely due to support from Tokugawa Yoshimune. By this time it had evolved from a polo-like game (using mallets) to something more akin to mounted lacrosse. During this period, dakyu was considered a corollary to military training (working the skills needed to wield a spear from horseback). This aspect was downplayed in the Meiji era, when the game again lost favour; today, it survives only as a cultural asset.
caption: A dakyu game in progress in ancient China
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