Iga Ryu Daimatsuba
Iga Ryu Daimatsuba are one of my personal favourites, They are the perfect compromise between Bo and Hira Shuriken in a single projectile weapon.
The Iga Ryu Ninja are quite possibly the most famous Ninja of all time and are one of only a few ninja lineages that have survived to this day. The Iga Ueno Ninja museum is based in Iga Ueno, Mie prefecture where they celebrate an annual Ninja festival and host regular theatrical displays and demonstrations.
Iga Ryu Daimatsuba translates into the Iga School Pine Needle but they are also affectionately known as “Swallow Tail” Shuriken due to their shape.
The Iga and Koga Ryu schools were born out of warfare during the Onin War in which they honed their guerilla warfare and weapons skills into the art that formed Ninjutsu. The history of Iga Ryu Ninjutsu is a very extensive subject that closely links to the formation of the Bansenshukai and its different variations. The original Bansenshukai that forms the basis for Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu was in fact compiled by an Iga Ryu Ninja, Fujibayashi Sabuji in 1676 for the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Fujibayashi himself is quite a mystery as Fujibayashi Sabuji, Fujibayashi Nagato and Momochi Sandayu could all be the same person.
The specifications for Iga Ryu Daimatsuba are as follows:
Length: 12cm
Width: 4.5cm at Tail
Thickness: 3mm
Type: Daimatsuba – Pine Needle
Material: Tool Steel/Tempered Steel
When I initially encountered the Iga Ryu Daimatsuba I had heard a lot of mixed opinions about their effectiveness as Shuriken, Some people hated them, Some people said they wern’t really Shuriken and others loved them.
Once I managed to get my hands on some Daimatsuba, I started training with them and absolutely loved them! I think the issue is if you view them as Hira Shuriken then they are somewhat like ineffective Sankou Shuriken, they should definitely be used in the same manner as Bo Shuriken.
Personally I find Iga Ryu Daimatsuba to be well balanced, to have very good penetration on the target and to be very stable during flight. It’s actually difficult not to layer these Shuriken on top of each other when thrown as they just seem to fly directly to the target in the same way an extremely well balanced throwing knife would like an Arrow HD.
In conclusion if being a Ninja was based on your choice of Shuriken, I’d definitely be an Iga Ryu Ninja, They know how to produce very good Shuriken! Possibly the best variety of Shuriken I’ve ever had the pleasure of practicing with!
