Shuriken
手裏剣 · shuriken
Literally: blade hidden in hand
A Japanese concealed throwing weapon in two main forms, rod-shaped (bō-shuriken) and flat (hira-shuriken); it targeted the eyes, face, hands and feet.
Quick Facts
JapanAbout the weapon
Shuriken (手裏剣, literally "blade hidden in the hand") is a Japanese concealed throwing weapon. Its beginnings remain unclear, because shurikenjutsu was a secret art and the throwing of long thin objects was cultivated by many independent masters. The oldest known school teaching it is Ganritsu-ryū, active in the 17th century; its long thin spike with a bulbous head is derived from the arrow. Two main forms are distinguished. Bō-shuriken is a straight iron or steel spike, usually of square cross-section, 12 to 21 cm long. Hira-shuriken, or shaken ("wheel sword"), is a thin flat metal plate; it was made from coins (hishi-gane), carpenters' tools (kugi-nuki), spools and nail pullers (senban), and so often has a hole in the middle. The shape of the points can often identify the school that favoured that particular form. The shuriken supplemented the samurai's sword. It targeted uncovered parts of the body — eyes, face, hands and feet — and could also be used in the hand as a dagger. The art of shurikenjutsu was taught as a side element of the curricula of the schools Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, Ittō-ryū, Kukishin-ryū and Togakure-ryū. Regarding Togakure-ryū, it must be added that historians question its claimed age: Watatani Kiyoshi, in the lexicon Bugei Ryūha Daijiten, writes of embellished history. The only specialised school still active is Negishi-ryū, whose history spans four centuries in total. Reports of points coated with poison or buried in soil or dung to cause tetanus are handed down; we have not been able to establish them as a general practice. In North American English, star-shaped shuriken are mistakenly called "Chinese stars", although it is a Japanese weapon.
Related weapons
- Variants: Bō shuriken
- Variants: Senban shuriken