Moreover, soccer started to be called 'shukyu' in Japanese when foreigners who came from Europe during the Meiji period and were seen having fun with the game in a foreigners' residential area, and it is said that at that time, Japanese people called it 'foreigner's kemari.'
なお、日本語でサッカーのことを「蹴球（しゅうきゅう）」と呼ぶのは、明治時代にヨーロッパから来た外国人が外国人居留地でその競技に興ずる姿を見て、日本人が「異人さんの蹴鞠」と呼んだことからきているといわれる。