Initially, ninja throwing weapons or shuriken were used in various variations of Japanese martial arts. Using the Japanese art of paper folding known as origami, you can make artificial shuriken out of paper. Folding a paper shuriken is an easy and fun project. In addition, your creations can be used as decorations or beautiful crafts.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Preparing the Folded Paper
Step 1. Take two square sheets of paper
If you have computer or A4 paper, you can easily shape it into a square.
- Place the rectangular paper in a horizontal position. Take one of the corners and meet the opposite side so that the paper is now a trapezoid. Remove the rectangular (unfolded) part with scissors or a razor
- Origami paper fits perfectly and is easier to fold.
- If you are using the same colored paper, there is no need to use two papers. Just make two rectangles from one square sheet of paper.
Step 2. Fold each sheet of paper in half to make a rectangle
Press the paper to make folds. Then, open your paper.
- If you are using paper with one colored side, start with the colored side facing down.
- If you're using paper that has two sides of the same color, try drawing a different design on each side of the paper, or just a marker to distinguish each side.
Step 3. Cut or tear the folds to make two rectangles
You now have four rectangular pieces of paper. Paper shuriken only need two pieces. This article shows two different colored papers for your convenience, but feel free to use paper of the same color if you prefer.
If you can use a different color of paper and it currently has four rectangles, set two of them aside. You can use it later for the second shuriken
Part 2 of 2: Making Shuriken
Step 1. Fold the rectangle in half on the vertical side
This fold is called the book fold. If you are using computer paper and want to make a small shuriken, you can shorten the folded rectangle by cutting or tearing the paper.
- Don't forget, the more paper you have, the easier the shuriken will be.
- Make sure the two folded pieces of paper are the same length.
Step 2. Fold the rectangle in half on the horizontal side, then unfold
The fold will serve as a guide line so that further folds can be done easily.
Now, you have two rectangles with a horizontal valley fold in the middle of each
Step 3. Fold your rectangular paper crosswise
Make sure you fold the two pieces of paper against each other.
- Take the bottom right corner of the paper (blue), fold it to the top left so that it meets the crease. Take the top left corner and fold it to the bottom right so that it meets the center crease. Now the paper should be in an inverted “Z” shape.
- Take another bottom right corner of the paper (orange) and fold it to the top right so that it meets the center crease. After that, take the top right corner and fold it to the bottom left so that it meets the center crease. Now, your paper is more like the letter "Z".
- If done correctly, you should now have two “Z” shaped pieces of paper that look like mirrors of each other.
Step 4. Turn the two pieces of paper over
The fold you just made is now facing down.
Step 5. Fold the square at the top of the two paper strips inward to make a triangle
On each piece of paper, take the top outer corner and fold it diagonally to make a triangle.
Think of it like folding a paper airplane
Step 6. Fold the square at the base of the paper cutout to make a triangle
Take the bottom outer corner of the paper and fold it up diagonally to make a triangle.
Step 7. Fold the left triangle on both papers inward
Fold the triangle to the center so that the crease covers the parallelogram portion of the paper.
Step 8. Fold the right triangles of the two pieces of paper inward
You should now have two parallelograms covered by the folds of the two triangles above them.
Now you have two pieces of paper shaped like diamonds
Step 9. Turn the paper over (orange)
One piece of paper now has a triangular fin facing up while the other fin facing down.
Step 10. Unfold the second fin of the paper
Rotate the paper (blue) so that it resembles a “Z” shape with the fins pointing up. Lay down the paper (orange) with the fins pointing down. The two pieces of paper should now be perpendicular to each other.
Your two pieces of paper form a cross
Step 11. Insert the triangles into the opposite fold
Take the end of each triangular portion (blue) that is pointing up and place it in the top pocket on the paper (orange).
- You should see two pockets at the top of the paper (orange) into which a triangle of paper (blue) can be inserted.
- Once the triangle fits snugly into the paper bag (orange), press the edges of the paper so that they form a firm crease.
Step 12. Flip your shuriken
Repeat the process of inserting the remaining two triangles (orange) into the pockets (blue).
- The order in which you insert the ends of the paper doesn't have to be exact, but you will need to shift the paper slightly so that everything fits properly.
- If you're having trouble getting paper into the bag, try pinching the sides of the bag to open up the space.
Step 13. Draw your signature shuriken design
If you use white paper, or colored paper, you can decorate your work to make it look pretty.
To throw a shuriken, hold it at one end vertically. Flick your wrist when the back of your hand is facing the target and release your shuriken
Tips
- If you're using blank paper, try to decorate it however you like!
- Try making it out of aluminum paper to make it look realistic.
- After the shuriken is finished, glue it with masking tape to make it last longer and fly better.
- Try using origami paper or thinner to make folding easier.
- You can also use Post-it notes because they are already square!
- Fold carefully.
Warning
- If you don't fold the two pieces of paper so that the pieces of paper don't mirror each other, you won't be able to make a shuriken.
- Do not throw the shuriken at other people as it could injure or puncture their eyes.
