wooden fish drum; temple block
A round, hollow wooden percussion instrument carved with fish scales, used in Buddhist chanting to keep rhythm.
The monk is chanting sutras while striking the wooden fish drum.
Variant kanji form using 杢 instead of 木; rarely encountered.
From Chinese 木魚 (mùyú), literally 'wooden fish', referring to the instrument's fish-like shape and its symbolic association with wakefulness in Buddhist practice.