noun
Used in traditional Japanese theater (kabuki, bunraku) to signal the beginning or end of a performance. Also read as たく.
See also: 木
歌舞伎の舞台で柝が打たれると、観客は静かになった。
When the wooden clappers were struck on the kabuki stage, the audience fell silent.
拍子木 is a more general term for wooden clappers used in various contexts, while 柝 specifically refers to those used in traditional theater performances.
The kanji 柝 is composed of 木 (tree, wood) and 斥 (repel, reject), but the exact derivation is uncertain. The reading き is the native Japanese word for wood, and たく is the Sino-Japanese reading of the character.