korisuya kakushibuki blog 1

Shuriken can be considered kakushi buki (隠し武器, hidden weapons) depending on how they are used, but when people think of the term kakushi buki other small handheld weapons come to mind. Today I’ll talk about the kakute (角手 horned hand), which is a ring that has spike protruding to add pain in grabbing techniques, or to cause more damage in atemi. Kakute were normally worn on the middle finger with the points facing in, or on the middle finger and thumb when using more than one kakute, they could also be flipped and used on the outside of the hand for atemi. Some varities of kakute even have points on both sides requiring the hands to be kept open when striking, but devastating to the opponent no matter which fist is used. Kakute come in countless varieties and have equally as many names. Normally the name is based on the number of spikes or “horns” protruding, in that case the kanji 角 which is kaku in kakute is read as tsuno and the counting form of 本 hon, a counter for cyllindrical objects is used, i.e. 1 point ippon tsuno kakute(一本角角手), two points nihon tsuno kakute (二本角角手)
seen here , and so on as shown here.

However, these are very general terms, specific ryu-ha may use specific names. Seigo Ryu and Nanban Ippon Ryu refer to kakute as kakushu(角株）　meaning horned jewel though the kanji te in the original word kakute is also read shu, but yet another variation on the original pronunciation of kakute is a change in the kanji kaku to this incarnation 隠手, meaning hidden hand. Yet another variation following this pattern is kakushi(隠し), which as shown above means hidden, but once again a substitution can be made and the kana for shi is replaced with kanji giving us this combination which is still read kakushi, 角指　meaning horned finger. A very obvious name for kakute was kakuwa(角輪), horned ring, and more obscure name was taka no tsume,鷹の爪 meaning hawks talon. Within Tenkamuso Ryu an ippon tsuno kakute was called senriki(千力） meaning 1000 powere, because it was believed that’s how much your ability was increased by using a kakute and their name for nihon tsuno kakute was senninriki （千人力） power of 1000 men for the same reason. Keeping with the kanji riki, meaning power, the Saihoin Buan Ryu also used a kakute, but it was very different. The kakute used in Saihoin Buan Ryu was a single piece of metal hammered around a pipe and sharpened at each end and bent up. This made what was essentially a one size fits all kakute, this weapon was given the name temanriki(手万力）, hand with ten-thousand power, ten-thousand being the Taoist euphemism for infinity this weapon was considered the ultimate force amplifier. A very strange kakute doesn’t appear to be a kakute at all can be seen below.

It can be considered a goshinyowa (護身用輪) self defense ring. As you can see it looks like a normal(depends on your taste) ring, but the design leads it to be used similarly to a traditional kakute. That’s about all I have to say on kakute. I am working on a wide variety for my store. If you would like any other information just ask.
Sanbon Tsuno kakute from Korisuya.

KORISUYA SHURIKEN BLOG 4

Today I want to update my sanko shuriken post. Though not technically a sanko shuriken but still a flat shuriken with three points, I am going to talk about matsubagata shuriken.

Before anyone asks, no I won’t tell you how they’re thrown, I was asked specifically to keep this method secret, and as fake ninjer style as that sounds I will follow that request. It was asked of me by a serious shuriken practitioner and if you know me you know who that person is. Continuing, matsubagata, 松葉形手裏剣, pine needle or pine leaf shaped shuriken are also known as enbiken, 燕尾剣, swallow tail sword or even hiengata 飛燕形 flying swallow shape. They were used by Iga ryu and Yoshio ryu, and perhaps another ryu called Gio ryu, though this isn’t clear. The matsubagata has a lot of mystery around it, such as the origin or the peculiar shape. Some historical examples lead us to believe they are made from broken swords ground on both sids and splayed, or of course the shuriken could have been just another of countless variations on hira shuriken. Some say the matsubagata shuriken was actually a utility knife, this may be true based on some examples, it could also be considered a te no uchi weapon, like most shuriken, using various grips, such as putting the thumb in the v shaped opening, or placing the v in the webbing of the fingers. The matsubagata is a very interesting wepaon and can be obtained at Korisuya

KORISUYA SHURIKEN BLOG 3

I was going to talk about juji shuriken today but the number of variations on juji shuriken would be a bit much, I will cover them when I have each variety available for sale. Today I will first talk about the Manji shuriken. Manji shuriken 卍手裏剣 or manjiken 卍剣 are of course named after their shape which is the manji 卍 or swastika. I would say the manji shuriken is technically a juji 十字, figure ten, or 　四方 shihou, four directions shuriken because of the basic shape or four points protruding from the center. Manji shuriken are one of the few varieties of hira shuriken in which blade orientation matters. Penetration is only possible with the points facing the target, when the points face the user the shuriken would have a clubbing effect. When used for shoukenjutsu 掌剣術 or tenouchi 手の内 the manji shuriken can be used for severely damaging ripping techniques with the points protruding between the middle and ring finger as well as on both sides of the hands.
Within the classification of manji shuriken there are kakumanji 角卍　meaning angular or cornered manji and nagare manji 流れ卍 meaning flowing manji. Kaku manji as seen here

were a secret weapon of the Kobori ryu. The nagare manji shown here

was used by an unknown ryu, though some sources state this blade was used in Ryusei ryu. Both are available at Korisuya.

Korisuya shuriken blog 2

Today I’ll talk about hira shuriken 平手裏剣. Hira shuriken are shuriken which are flat and usually have at least three points, an exception to this would be the enbangata(円盤型 round tray style) shuriken, which are sharpened around the entire circumference and have no points. Other names for hira shuriken are tashin shuriken 多針手裏剣, many needle shuriken, kurumaken or shaken 車剣 meaning wheel blade also used was shashuriken 車手裏剣 wheel shuriken. The origin of hira shuriken techniques probably lies in the use of tsubute which I talked about in my first blog, but it may also have been influenced by China. A throwing weapon in China known as Lo Han Tsin, a large coin, maybe have formed the basis of such shuriken as the hishigata 菱, hishi is a Japanese water chestnut but in this case hishigata refers to hishigane 菱金a large coin. The horizontal throwing style used for Lo Han Tsin is the same method that appears in Togakure ryu. Hira shuriken were also fashioned out of numerous flat items aside from coins, the most basic of which is the teppan shuriken 鉄板手裏剣, or metal plate shuriken. Teppan were just square thick sheets of metal thrown at the enemy with incredible force. These weapons were used in Kukishin ryu, Koto Ryu, and Kxxxx Ryu. Another souce for hira shuriken could be kuginuki 釘抜き, which are nail removers. As most people know, the Togakure ryu senban 銛盤(lance tray) shuriken is a kuginuki shuriken and is also known as kuginukiken 釘抜剣 or nail remover sword, but there are more styles of kuginuki than just the one that resembles senban, there were also juji shaped kuginuki. The last idea for a source of origin for hira shuriken is in the buddhist Horin 法輪 or dharma wheel. This tool is illustrated in the mid level secret scroll of Yagyu Ryu. Shuriken modeled after the horin are used in Kobori Ryu.
The first style of hira shuriken I will discuss is the Sanko shuriken 三光手裏剣, meaning three lights shuriken. The sanko shuriken available from Korisuya seen here

is from the Ikeda Ryu. There are also other varieties which stem from Shinkage Ryu seen here
and Yagyu Shinkage Ryu seen here
. The sanko shuriken was said to have been created by Shinkage Ryu founder Kamiizumi Ise no Kami Nobutsuna. Another name for sanko shuriken would be sanpo shuriken 3 directions shuriken 三法手裏剣 or, as used in another ryu, mitsubishi shuriken 三菱手裏剣 seen here
. These varieties will be posted on Korisuya shortly. That covers three point shuriken, I will move on to a different variety in my next blog.

Shuriken Blog 1

I’ve decided to spread information about shuriken through a blog. I know this is going to get stolen and abused, like many of my photos of my collection have, but hopefully people who want true knowledge will use this properly. Since secrets-of-shuriken is down this will probably be the best, and only accurate source of information about shuriken. I’ll post on on variety of shuriken whenever I feel like it basically, maybe make a video about it too, I’m not too sure. Today I’ll start with the word shuriken itself and maybe cover one variety.
Shuriken are part of a group of weapons called totekibuki 投擲武器, meaning objects thrown at enemies. The first usage of totekibuki in text as a weapon was in the Heike Monogatari and Gikeiki which recorded soldiers using ishinagejutsu 石投げ術 which is the throwing of stones. Ishinagejutsu later came to be called 礫 meaning pebbles, though the rocks used were actually 4.5 cm across and nearly 1 cm thick, later on the stones used were actually iron stone and called tetsutsubute 鉄礫. These arts formed the basis of throwing technique but the thrown items were still crude and unrefined.The next step in the evolution of shuriken would come from the oldest of Japanese martial arts, kyuujutsu 弓術 , the use of bow and arrow. When a bow was broken the bowman would throw his arrows at the enemy, but there is not enough power behind the arrows to do much damage. This gave rise to the uchine 打根, which means striking source. Other terms for uchine are futoya 太矢, meaning big arrow or 投矢 nageya which means throwing arrow, also the term tetsukiya 手突矢 was used meaning hand thrust arrow. Negishi ryu states this is the mother of shuriken, while the father is uchimono. Uchimono, 打ち物, are any daggers or swords thrown as a weapon, basically the first tantogata shuriken, though they could be swords of any size as recorded in the Jouzan Kidan and Osaka Gunki. These are the seeds that lead us to what we now know as shuriken.
The word shuriken is usually written 手裏剣 hand, inside, sword. This meaning implies anything blade capable of being hidden in the hand is a shuriken. The first record of this usage was in the Hiyori no Ki, which describes the Gosannen no Eki, or Later Three Year war(though it actually lasted 4). The text describes “shuriken ni utsu” which means strike with a shuriken. In Japanese generally it’s disrespectful to say throw shuriken, meaning to use the term nage from the verb nageru, to throw. Normally we say uchi, meaning to strike, it implies a different ideology to the attack. The alternate writing method could be 手理剣 hand justice sword、手利剣 hand benefit sword、修理剣 cultivate justice sword 、手離剣 hand released blade(this is used in Mouen Ryu Shuriken), 修利剣 cultivate benefits sword, and 四 寸鉄刀 4 sun iron sword all still read as shuriken. Another term used was shiriken, 尻剣, which meant butt sword. Of course there were other words that didn’t have the similar pronunciation such as onken 穏剣 unseen or not present sword also pronounced onken is 隠剣 meaning hidden sword, anken 暗剣 meaning dark sword, daken 打剣　meaning striking sword, touken 投剣 meaning throwing sword, gekiken 撃剣 meaning striking sword, fusatsuken 不殺剣 which is very interesting because it describes shuriken as non-killing sword. Also 三不過剣 sanbukaken which is three no passing swords, I don’t know exactly what that means.
This took a little longer than expected to write. I assume I’ll also get an account at blogspot or some other thing like wordpress and share this information. Please though if you want to use this ask me. There was a lot of research put into this and if you want me to continue sharing this information I would prefer it if we kept it out of the hands of frauds. The truth is as dangerous as it is helpful.