Shuriken

The shuriken, otherwise known as the ninja star, is probably the best known out of all of the ninja’s weapons. Actually, though, ninja stars were not the most frequently used weapons, or even one of the best. The shuriken started out just as a piece of flat metal that was cut in order to make sharpened edges. The shuriken was really only a distraction, thrown at an enemy while the ninja was making an escape. Only once the edges were dipped in poison was it used as a killing tool, but that really made it almost as dangerous for the ninja as it was for the enemy- he could cut himself while reaching for the weapon in the dark and accidentally kill himself. A mental trick was used with the shuriken against his enemy; if an enemy were perhaps standing guard, he could suddenly be sliced and think that he had been attacked by an invisible enemy, when really shuriken had been thrown at him and, after cutting him, flown off into the darkness. One advantage that the ninja star had over other throwing weapons was that it could easily bounce out of sight in the dark, making the enemy unable to attack with it once it was thrown. Also, the cutting edge was guaranteed to strike, while many other throwing weapons were only bladed on one side.


	Weapons and Equipment of the Ninja \| home Ninja-to \| Bo and Jo \| Kusarigama \| Kyoketsu-shoge \| Shuriken \| Tetsu-Bishi \| Shuko and Ashiko \| Manriki Gusari \| Ono \| Bokken \| Fukiya \| Poison-tipped Darts \| Metsubishi/Mitsubishi \| Throwing Knives \| Throwing Spikes \| Kamas Shuriken The shuriken, otherwise known as the ninja star, is probably the best known out of all of the ninja’s weapons. Actually, though, ninja stars were not the most frequently used weapons, or even one of the best. The shuriken started out just as a piece of flat metal that was cut in order to make sharpened edges. The shuriken was really only a distraction, thrown at an enemy while the ninja was making an escape. Only once the edges were dipped in poison was it used as a killing tool, but that really made it almost as dangerous for the ninja as it was for the enemy- he could cut himself while reaching for the weapon in the dark and accidentally kill himself. A mental trick was used with the shuriken against his enemy; if an enemy were perhaps standing guard, he could suddenly be sliced and think that he had been attacked by an invisible enemy, when really shuriken had been thrown at him and, after cutting him, flown off into the darkness. One advantage that the ninja star had over other throwing weapons was that it could easily bounce out of sight in the dark, making the enemy unable to attack with it once it was thrown. Also, the cutting edge was guaranteed to strike, while many other throwing weapons were only bladed on one side.