Along with the samurai, the ninja are one of the most famous figures of ancient Japan. There are many myths and legends about ninja weapons which are often fetishized by movies and pop culture surrounding Medieval Japanese society.

Ninja weapons are just as legendary as the Ninja themselves. Most of these ninja weapons came to be because ninjas were not afraid to invent new weapons and scrap together these lethal devices from everyday tools. 

Here is our list of the top 10 deadliest ninja weapons.

Kunai- Ninja Knife

This ninja weapon took a lot of skl to master. This was because a kunai was a small knife and was commonly used as a throwing knife by the ninja.

Like most ninja weapons, kunai was cheaply produced by scraping together bits and bobs of various gardening tools. But once a kunai was ready, it could be a ninja’s third hand.

This ninja weapon would be used for close or long range combat depending upon the skill of the ninja. If the ninja had mastered the art of knife throwing, the kunai would become a death sentence to the opponent.

Ninjato-Ninja Sword

Ninjato is amongst the most popular ninja weapons, thanks to pop culture. It is a straight short sword that is said to have been part of the standard equipment of the ninja.

This ninja weapon was short enough to be carried on a ninja’s back and be drawn from there. A longer sort like a katana would have restricted the ninja’s way as he was climbing and if carried on his back, he wouldn’t have been able to draw it due to the long blade.

Rumour has it that this ninja weapon was often just a shortened katana. In order to save resources the ninja sometimes took the swords of their victims and made ninjatos out of them.

Kusari Fundo- Ninja Chain

This gruesome ninja weapon was a  combination of a long chain ‘kusari’ and a heavyweight ‘fundo’ at the end which resulted in a powerful ninja weapon.

With the help of this ninja weapon, the ninja could defend themselves against their enemies. The kusari fundo was helpful in areas where wearing a sword was prohibited. This ninja weapon could easily be hidden and was mainly used for self-defence.

Kusarigama- Ninja Chain With Sickle

To create this ninja weapon, all a ninja had to do was to attach a kusari fundo to a sickle. This is how the kusarigama was invented.

The combination of a throw cut and chain weapon makes the kusarigama very versatile ninja weapon. In order to deploy this ninja weapon, the sickle was held in one hand while the other swung the weighted chain. 

With the help of this ninja weapon, the ninja could keep opponents with swords at a distance so that they couldn’t use their weapon and then the weighted chain could be used to disarm them. 

Kagi- Ninja Claw

This famous ninja weapon has hooked the imagination of the present generation because of Wolverine.The fearsome iron claws could perform various tasks, slitting throats was one of them.

This deadly ninja weapon looked like a bear’s paw and was probably made from sickles or similar objects of utility. Ninja would deploy this weapon to attack opponents as well as to ward off blows and disarm opponents. 

Shuriken- Ninja Stars

The term ‘Shuriken’  includes all short Japanese throwing weapons and not just the well-known ninja stars. This ninja weapon exists in surprisingly many shapes, from stars to swastika and from bolts to ordinary knives.

This ninja weapon was carried in hidden pockets in the ninja jackets or pants and sometimes, these ninja weapons were even smeared with poison so that in case the enemy survived the injury itself, he would still die of poisoning or infection.

However, this ninja weapon only had a range of a few meters to inflict real damage which is why it was mainly used to stop pursuers by showering them with many shuriken.

Kakute- Ninja Ring 

Kakute was a ninja weapon shaped like a ring and was usually worn on the middle finger so that the spikes were hidden in the hand. If you know of kunatons, this is the ninja version of that weapon.

This ninja weapon was especially popular amongst female ninja who preferred the ninja weapons that could be easily concealed and could be quickly deployed with guaranteed results.

This ninja weapon had spiked on the ring which were sometimes dipped in poison. This ninja weapon could be used to attack an enemy when he least suspected it for example by suddenly scratching his face or slitting his throat. The rings were also well suited as climbing aids.

Shikomizue-Ninja Sword Cane

This ninja weapon is a hidden sword which looks like a walking stick and was mainly used during the Meiji era when carrying swords was prohibited. This ninja weapon was also worn by government officials and samurai who disagreed with the ban but did not want to be punished.

Probably the most used ninja weapon to date, the hidden sword stick was a stealthiest weapon a ninja would wield especially when he was hired for a high level assisanation in the feudal Japanese society.

Tanto-Ninja Blade

This ninja weapon didn’t belong specifically to ninjas. It is a typical Japanese combat sword that had a slightly curved blade, was single edged and less than 30 centimeters long.

This ninja weapon was originally part of the equipment of the samurai and mainly used by them for self-defence but the ninja seemed to have taken a fancy to it as well. This ninja weapon was perfect for assassinations. There were many ninja weapons based on a basic tanto design.

Shikoro-Ninja Saw 

This was one of the most basic of all ninja weapons. Shikoro was a tool mainly used to open things up. The small double-edged saw was also very light and easily concealable. Ninja weapons can’t be clearly distinguished from everyday tools and a ninja saw is no exception.

This ninja weapon was used to cut open a fence or make a hole inside a wooden wall to look through and also to cut ropes. This ninja weapon was also used for self defense to fend off attackers which makes this ninja weapon, one of the most versatile gadgets that a shinobi could carry.

Final words

As you can see when having a look at the above selection of ninja weapons that ninjas were quite different to other fighters such as the samurai whose weapon selection was much more limited and really huge in size.

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