The Origins of Gateball: A Brief History

Gateball was invented in 1947 in Hokkaido, Japan, by Eiji Suzuki, inspired by European croquet and designed as a post-WWII, low-cost activity for children. It evolved into a popular, strategic team sport for seniors, with a unified, competitive style established in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, it is popular across Asia and Brazil.