The name 'saji' (spoon) came from its shape, and began to be used by Sekitei KIUCHI who introduced a popular name, 'rice spoon of tengu (a mountain spirit, portrayed as winged and having a long nose),' to refer to this type of stone tool in his archaeological and epigraphical studies in the Edo period.
「匙（さじ）」の名称はその形状に由来し、江戸時代の考古・金石学研究において木内石亭が「天狗の飯匕（めしかい）」の俗称を紹介したことに始まっている。