Yatate

Yatate (矢立) are small personal smoking-pipe-shaped writing sets from medieval Japan which provided a carrying box for the ink cotton, and a shaft for a brush (and possibly a letter opener).

The complete set was easily portable and took time to prepare the materials for writing.

By enclosing the cotton in a little box (sumi tsubo), a writing set was made convenient and portable.

In the late Edo period, another design was developed, with the ink box attached to the pen shaft by a chain; the ink box was used as a netsuke to fix the yatate to the belt, while other yatate were simply tucked behind the belt like a fan.

As only members of the samurai caste were permitted to carry katana, some yatate were designed to be used for self-defense.