is the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese name for a flat ritual baton or scepter of Chinese origin. Usually made of woods like Japanese yew

Taxus cuspidata

Taxus cuspidata is a member of the genus Taxus, native to Japan, Korea, northeast China and the extreme southeast of Russia....

, holly

Holly

Ilex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....

, cherry

Cherry

The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....

, sakaki

Sakaki

Sakaki is a flowering evergreen tree native to warm areas of Japan, Korea and mainland China. It can reach a height of 10 m. The leaves are 6–10 cm long, smooth, oval, leathery, shiny and dark green above, yellowish-green below, with deep furrows for the leaf stem. The bark is dark reddish...

 or Japanese cedar, the shaku is often seen in portraits of shoguns and noblemen but is now used mostly by Shinto

Shinto

or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

 priests (the kannushi

Kannushi

A , also called , is the person responsible for the maintenance of a Shinto shrine as well as for leading worship of a given kami. The characters for kannushi are sometimes also read jinshu with the same meaning....

).

The use of the shaku as a ritual baton

Baton (symbol)

The ceremonial baton is a short, thick stick, carried by select high-ranking military officers as a uniform article. The baton is distinguished from the swagger stick in being thicker and less functional . Unlike a staff of office, a baton is not rested on the ground...

 originated in ancient China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, where in mandarin it is called hù with the same Chinese character

Chinese character

Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...

. The actual reading for the character shaku is kotsu, but this is also one of the readings for the character and is thus avoided to prevent bad luck. The character's unusual pronunciation seems to derive from the fact the baton is approximately one shaku (an old unit of measurement equivalent to 30.3 cm) in length.

Origins and evolution

A shaku or is a baton or scepter about 35 cm long held vertically in the right hand, and was traditionally part of a nobleman's formal attire (the sokutai

Sokutai

The is complex attire only worn by courtiers, aristocrats and the emperor at the court in Japan. Part of a sokutai are the , a flat ritual baton or scepter, and a hat called ....

, see photo). Today it is used however mostly by Shinto

Shinto

or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

 priests during functions, not only with a sokutai but with other types of formal clothing as the Jōe

Joe

Joe may be a nickname originating from the name "Joseph", "Josephina" and others.Joe may refer to:-People:* Joe , an American R&B singer and record producer* Joe , a character known only as "Joe" on the popular children's show...

, the and the . The Emperor's shaku is more or less square at both ends, while a retainer's is rounded above and square at the bottom. Both become progressively narrow towards the bottom. Oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

 is considered the best, followed in order by holly, cherry, sakaki and Japanese cedar.

The shaku originally had a strip of paper attached to the back containing instructions and memoranda for the ceremony or event about to take place, but it later evolved into a purely ceremonial implement meant to add solemnity to rituals. According to the Taiho Code

Taiho Code

The was an administrative reorganization enacted in 701 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the . It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito...

, a set of administrative laws implemented in the year 701, nobles of the fifth rank and above had to use an ivory shaku, while those below that rank were to use oak, Japanese yew, holly, cherry, sakaki, Japanese cedar, or other woods. Ivory, however, was too hard to obtain, and the law was changed. The Engishiki

Engishiki

-History:In 905 Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of a new set of laws. Fujiwara no Tokihira began the task, but work stalled when he died four years later in 909. His brother Fujiwara no Tadahira continued the work in 912 eventually completing it in 927...

, a Japanese book of laws and regulations written in 927, permits to all the use of shaku of unfinished wood, except when wearing special ceremonial clothes called .