A shakujo (scepter) is a tool carried by Buddhist monks and nuns. When it touches the ground while walking, or when it is shaken, the metal rings on the scepter clank together, making a sound. This sound protects against beasts in the wilderness and announces one’s arrival before the gates of a city.
The head of this scepter is made of copper and plated with gold. The scepter is currently attached to a wooden handle. It is believed to have been shaken in Buddhist rituals to purify spaces through sound.
The scepter is shaped like a gourd and is topped with an orb (hoju) that emits light in all four directions, like a flame. The orb moves freely within the flame. In the center is an Amida Trinity, with Amida Buddha on a lotus flower flanked by two bodhisattvas. On one side of the scepter, the Amida Buddha is standing with the hands in raigoin (reasoning mudra). On the other side, the Amida Buddha is seated with the hands in join (meditation mudra). Furthermore, the Trinity is guarded on the left and right by Deva bearing weapons. With two Deva each on the front and on the back of the scepter, they form the Four Heavenly Kings. Legend has it that this scepter was bestowed to Kukai (774-835) by Huiguo (Keika), a Buddhist monk at Qinglongsi (Shoryuji) Temple in Tang Dynasty China. Indeed, the decorative and skilled crafting on the scepter indicates it was made during the Tang Dynasty.