Sutras and documents mounted as handscrolls are attached to a roller rod so they can be stored rolled up. The roller rods in the Shōsō-in are mostly made of Japanese cypress, or Japanese cedar. Some are plain wood, some finished with a lacquer coat or a mitsuda oil coat. The two ends of the roller rods stick out beyond the mounted scroll and serve as handholds when rolling up the scroll. Often these ends have added decorative elements, or roller ends (jikutan), their shape—flared (“plectrum shaped” bachigata) or straight (bōgata)—and material (wood, glass, stone, etc.) defining the style of the roller.