Shuriken
Throwable Japanese concealed weapon / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A shuriken (Japanese: 手裏剣, lit. 'hand-hidden blade') is a Japanese concealed weapon used by samurai or ninja or in martial arts as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect.[1][2]
Shuriken are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they were originally constructed in many different shapes. The major varieties of shuriken are the bō shuriken (棒手裏剣, stick shuriken) and the hira shuriken (平手裏剣, flat shuriken) or shaken (車剣, wheel shuriken, also read as kurumaken).
Shuriken functioned as supplementary weapons to the sword or to other weapons in a samurai's arsenal, although they often had an important tactical effect in battle.[3][4][5][better source needed] The art of wielding the shuriken is known as shurikenjutsu[5] and was taught as a minor part of the martial-arts curriculum of many famous schools, such as Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, Ittō-ryū, Kukishin-ryū, and Togakure-ryū.[2][6][7]