shuriken n kunai are the main throwing dagger for shinobi in Naruto to support their mission.
Shuriken
Shuriken (lit: "hand released blade") is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing an opponent's arteries. They are sharpened hand-held blades made from a variety of everyday items such as needles, nails, and knives, as well as coins, washers, and other flat plates of metal. Shuriken were mainly a supplemental weapon to the more commonly used katana (sword) or yari (spear) in a warrior's arsenal, though they often played a pivotal tactical role in battle. The art of wielding the shuriken is known as shuriken-jutsu, and was mainly taught as a minor part of the martial arts curriculum of many famous schools, such as Yagyu Ryu, Katori Shinto Ryu, Itto Ryu, Kukishin Ryu, and Togakure Ryu.[citation needed] In the modern western world, shuriken can often be purchased online as collector's items.
Shuriken are commonly known in the West as "death stars," "throwing stars" or "ninja stars." However, the shuriken took many different shapes and designs during the time that they were used.
The major varieties of Shuriken are the bo shuriken and the hira shuriken , or shaken (also read as kurumaken).
Type 0f Shuriken
Bo-Shuriken
Bo Shuriken also used as a stakeThis is a throwing weapon consisting of a straight, iron or steel spike, usually 4 sided but sometimes round or octagonal. They were usually single-pointed but there are some that are double-pointed. The length of bo-shuriken ranges from 12 to 21 cm (5-8 1/2 in) and the average weight was from 35 to 150 grams (1.2-5.4 ounces). The bo-shuriken is thrown in a number of ways, such as overhead, underarm, sideways and rearwards, but in each case the throw involved the blade sliding out of the hand through the fingers in a smooth, controlled flight.
The major forms of throw are the jiki da-ho (direct hit method), and the han-ten da-ho (turning hit method). These two forms are technically different, in that the former does not allow the blade to spin before it hits the target, while the latter requires that the blade does spin before it hits the target.
Bo-shuriken were constructed from a wide variety of commonly used everyday items, and thus there are many shapes and sizes. Some derive their name from the materials they were fashioned from, such as kugi-gata (nail form), hari-gata (needle form) and tanto-gata (knife form); others are named after the object to which they appear similar, such as hoko-gata (spear form), matsuba-gata (pine-needle form) while others were simply named after the object that was thrown, such as kankyuto-gata (piercing tool form), kunai-gata (utility tool form), or teppan (plate metal) and biao (pin).
Other items were also thrown as in the fashion of bo-shuriken, such as kogai (ornamental hairpin), kozuka (utility knife) and hashi (chopsticks), although these items were not associated with any particular school of shuriken-jutsu, rather they were more likely just thrown at opportune moments by a skilled practitioner who was versed in the method of a particular school.
Origins
The origins of the bo-shuriken in Japan are still unclear at this stage, despite continuing research in this area. This is partly due to the fact that shuriken-jutsu is a secretive art, and also to the fact that throughout early Japanese history there were actually many independent innovators of the skill of throwing long, thin objects.[citation needed] The earliest mention of a school teaching shuriken-jutsu is Ganritsu Ryu, prevalent during the 1600s.[citation needed] This school utilized a long thin implement with a bulbous head, thought to be derived from the arrow. Existing examples of blades from this school appear to exhibit an amalgam of the shape of an arrow, and the traditional Japanese needle used in leatherwork and armour manufacture.
There are also earlier mentions in written records such as the Osaka Gunki (Military records of Osaka) of throwing the knife and short sword in battle, and Miyamoto Musashi is said to have won a duel by throwing his short sword at his opponent, killing him.
Hira shuriken
Hira shuriken are constructed from thin, flat plates of metal from a variety of sources, such as hishi-gane (coins), kugi-nuki (carpentry tools), senban (washers), and as such do not generally look like what is usually conceived of as the ninja star. Often they have a hole in the center, are only sharpened on the very tips and possess a fairly thin blade. The reason for the hole is that the original source items had holes - old coins, washers, and nail-removing tools, each possessed holes as part of their design. This was found to be convenient for the user of the shuriken, as they could be carried strung together on string, and the hole also had an aerodynamic effect which aided the flight of the blade as it was thrown. In some schools the hole was used as a center reference, a sort of "pointing spot" for the overhead throwing method. Usually with a common four point hira-shuriken the index finger was placed slightly in, or on the edge of the hole parallel with a point. When released during the overhead style throw the finger would be in a pointing position and increase accuracy.
There is a wide variety of forms of hira-shuriken, also known as shaken, and they are now usually identified by the number of points the blades possess. As with bo-shuriken, the various shapes of hira-shuriken were usually representative of a particular school or region that preferred the use of such shapes, and it is therefore possible to identify the school by the type of blade used.
There are two major forms of throw with hira-shuriken, the overhead throw and the horizontal throw. The arm action of the overhead throw is very similar to that of bo-shuriken, although the blade grip is slightly adapted to accommodate the circular shape of the blade itself.
Kunai
A kunai (kunai) is an ancient kind of trowel, originated during the Tenshō era in Japan. The kunai was normally wrought of iron, not steel, cheaply forged and unpolished. The size of most kunai ranged from 20 cm to 60 cm, with the average at 40 cm. The kunai was used by common folk as multi-purpose gardening tools and by workers of stone and masonry. The kunai is not a knife, but something more akin to a crowbar. The blade was soft iron and unsharpened because the edges were used to smash plaster and wood, to dig holes and to pry. Normally only the tip would have been sharpened. The uses to which a kunai was put would have destroyed any heat-treated and sharpened tool like a knife.
Kunai normally had a leaf-shaped blade and a handle with a ring on the pommel for attaching a rope. This would allow the kunai's handle to be wrapped to act as a grip, or when used as a weapon; to be strapped to a stick as an expedient spear, to be tied to the body for concealment, or to use as an anchor or piton.
Contrary to popular belief, they were not designed as throwing weapons, though they can be thrown and cause damage. Instead, they are a thrusting and stabbing tool.
As a weapon
A typical kunai in fiction.Many ninja developed weapons were merely adapted farming tools, not unlike those used by Shaolin monks in China. Since kunai were cheaply produced farming tools of a decent size and weight, and could be easily sharpened, they were readily available to be converted into simple weapons.
As with the shuriken and ninjutsu, the exaggeration persistent in ninja myths played a large role in creating the current pop culture image of kunai. In the mythology of ninja, the kunai is commonly portrayed to be a Japanese knife that is used for throwing as opposed to stabbing. As a weapon it is larger and heavier than a shuriken, and with the grip could also be used in hand to hand combat more readily than a shuriken. In addition, it could be used for climbing, as either a kind of grappling hook, or a piton.
The blade is shown shaped like a squashed octahedron, a rod for the handle with a ring on the end, extremely simple in design. It would be made of tempered steel, with sharpened edges, and polished to a shiny surface. The handle is wrapped in fabric or cord to act as a grip.
In Masaaki Hatsumi's Grandmaster of the Togakure Ryū school of Ninjutsu collection there are examples of short kunai, long kunai, narrow bladed types, saw-toothed types, and wide bladed types. In some cases, the kunai and the shikoro, a wide bladed saw with a dagger-type handle, are hard if not impossible to distinguish. Commonly used in the comic "Naruto".
Bahasa Indonesia:
Shuriken
Shuriken ("hand hidden blade") adalah senjata tradisional jepang yang pada umumnya digunakan untuk melempar lawan, dan kadang digunakan untuk menusuk dan memotong arteri lawan. Shuriken dibuat dari jarum, pisau, dan bahan logam lain. Shuriken adalah senjata yang paling sering digunakan setelah katana dan naginata.
Ilmu beladiri yang menggunakan shuriken disebut Shuriken-jutsu, Shuriken-jutsu pada dulunya diajarkan di perguruan ninja.
Shuriken dikenal dengan sebutan "Bintang Ninja"
Kunai
Kunai (Kunai) adalah peralatan berukuran kecil yang digunakan ninja. Alat ini menyerupai pisau berujung runcing dan dan sering digunakan seperti kuku oleh para ninja untuk untuk menempel di dinding sewaktu memanjat atau menggali tanah.
Kunai berukuran sekitar 10-15 cm sehingga cukup kecil untuk dibawa ke mana-mana dan disembunyikan di balik baju dari penglihatan orang. Alat ini diketahui sebagai senjata standar bagi ninja seperti halnya makibishi dan shuriken. Kunai berukuran kecil disebut Tobikunai (secara harafiah: kunai terbang) dan digunakan seperti halnya shuriken.
