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.
An old native word for wooden clappers. 柝 is a meaning-based spelling using the Chinese character for a wooden clapper.