National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

Shaku is a thin mace that court officials held in their hands at official ceremonies. It is made of ivory or wood, such as ichii (a kind of oak) or cherry. While its original purpose was for officials to write down important points on its back to refer to them during a ceremony, later it became an item to straighten themselves. Since the Engishiki (a document on official formalities) stipulates that shaku made of fang should be used by officials higher in rank (higher than 5th rank), this shaku made of a bone must have been treated the same as the fang shaku.