noun
bamboo divination stick; I Ching stick
Specialized term for the 50 bamboo sticks used in traditional I Ching (易経) divination. Not an everyday word; encountered in contexts of Chinese-derived fortune-telling.
See also: 易経
易者は筮竹を手に取り、静かに並べ始めた。
The diviner picked up the bamboo divination sticks and began to arrange them quietly.
易経 is the I Ching text itself, while 筮竹 are the physical sticks used in its divination method.
From Chinese 筮竹 (shìzhú), combining 筮 'divination' and 竹 'bamboo'. The term entered Japanese through classical Chinese texts on I Ching divination.