The kanji 鞠 primarily represents a ball, especially one used in games or sports. It often implies a round, spherical object that is played with, kicked, or thrown. This can range from a simple ball made of material like cloth to a more complex ball used in specific games. The character also carries the sense of something that is bounced, tossed, or controlled.

・On-yomi (音読み): きく (kyū) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): まり (mari)

⚫︎ 蹴鞠 (kemari) Translation: A traditional Japanese ball game, often played by courtiers. ⚫︎ 鞠を持つ (mari o motsu) Translation: To hold a ball. ⚫︎ 鞠遊び (mari asobi) Translation: Ball play or games involving a ball.

The kanji 鞠 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The left side is a radical called 革 (かく, kawa) which means "leather" or "skin," indicating the material often used to make balls in the past. The right side is 菊 (きく, kiku) which means "chrysanthemum" and it functions as a phonetic component here, providing the sound or part of the sound of the character. Therefore, it depicts a ball made of leather, a common material for balls at that time.