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A shuriken (kanji: 手裏剣, "hand-hidden blade") is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing. Shuriken 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" is the name given to any small-bladed object, while "shaken" is traditionally used to indicate the well-known name "throwing star".
Shuriken are often called "throwing stars" or "ninja stars" in the Western world, though they took many different shapes and designs during the time they were used. The major varieties of shuriken are the "bō shuriken" (kanji: 棒手裏剣, "stick shuriken"), the "hira shuriken" (kanji: 平手裏剣, "flat shuriken"), and the "shaken"/"kurumaken" (kanji: 車剣, "wheel shuriken").
Shuriken were often used as distraction and misdirection tools and were mainly a supplemental weapon to the more-commonly-used sword or other various weapons in a samurai's arsenal, though they often played a pivotal tactical role in battle. The Japanese martial art of wielding shuriken is called shurikenjutsu (kanji: 手裏剣術, "shuriken technique").
In TMNT[]
Shuriken are very frequently depicted in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, normally used as secondary weapons for the main characters. In some continuities, the Ninja Turtles are equipped with explosive and other specialized shuriken. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures commonly include two or more shuriken as additional accessories.
2012 TV series[]
In the 2012 TV series, the Ninja Turtles are seen using four-pointed shuriken, and the Foot Soldiers are seen using six-pointed shuriken.
Rise of the TMNT[]
In Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, shuriken are first depicted in "Mystic Mayhem" stuck into Splinter's Do Not Touch Cabinet. Shuriken in the series are always four-pointed with circles in the center. They reappear in "Down with the Sickness" when Splinter throws them at Raphael while in the fourth Rat Flu infection stage Ninja Supreme. In "The Purple Jacket", Donatello tosses shuriken with "IM HERE!" written on them into April O'Neil's desk at Washington Irving High School's computer laboratory to announce his arrival. In "Turtle-dega Nights: The Ballad of Rat Man", Splinter throws shuriken at Big Mama to distract her so Donnie and Michelangelo can defeat her. Splinter removes three shuriken from inside the trunk in his bedroom in "Insane in the Mama Train".
Gallery[]
