Shuriken are throwing weapons unique to Japan. Although they are strongly associated with ninja as primary weapons, they were also used by samurai and martial artists for self‑defense. They are also known as tōken, shuriken, daken, gekken, shuriken (with different characters), shuriken (“hand‑release sword”), sakutōken, ryūsei, and hanachiben. The word shuriken can also be written as “hand‑release sword,” in the sense of “a sword hidden in the hand that leaves the hand to strike the enemy.” Historically, shuriken emerged in the late Muromachi period as weapons for self‑protection and escape.