Shaku was introduced from China in the sixth century, and it was first used in Japan during the Imperial Court ceremony, wherein a sequence of the ceremony was written down as memos on a piece of paper called shakugami pasted on the back of the shaku.
6世紀に中国から伝来し、日本では初めは、朝廷の公事を行うときに、備忘のため式次第を笏紙（しゃくがみ）という紙に書いて笏の裏に貼って用いていた。