Difference between 鞠 and ボール

Question

僕はまりみたいに弾んだ。
I bounced like a ball.

This is the fist time I've come across the word まり.

1. Are there differences in usage between まり and ボール?
2. Is it usual to write it in kanji, 鞠?
3. Is まり more formal or is it perfectly normal in casual conversation?

Answer 1

First of all, we seldom use まり in a daily conversation. We come across the word when learning a traditional Japanese culture called [蹴鞠]{けまり} at school. It seems to be similar to a volleyball you use feet instead of hands. We do not see this play other than a traditional ritual like this picture.

• For, No.1,3 ボール in katakana and [球]{たま} or [球]{きゅう} in kanji are only used in a daily life.

• For No.2 Yes. When you want to describe a ball in archaic way, it can be used although we seldom see the kanji.

Answer 2

We sometimes use the word 'まり' for balls without specific purpose defined but just a children's toy. Traditionally, kids would have played まりつき, まりなげ or other まりあそび with simple rubber-made balls, and such balls could be called as 'ゴムまり' or simply 'まり'. These days they are almost replaced by better crafted balls like soccer or basket balls.

Another usage of 'まり' is colorful thread-woven ball-shape objects which should be displayed in special occasions like ひなまつり or alike.

Of course, 蹴鞠 is great example of use of the word, that is the game traditionally played among ancient Kyoto nobles in Heian period, and nowadays demonstrated as scenic presentations.

There is another kanji for まり, which is '毬' but this does not make any great difference against use of 鞠, while they suggest its materials (毛糸 or 皮革) but in most cases people does not care much about that point.

The word まり has its own context and is OK even in casual conversations if it is natural enough, but, if it is out-of-context, most of ボールs should not be called as まり, and it won't be taken as formal wording.