Kobori Ryu Happogata Hira Shuriken

Kobori Ryu Happogata Hira Shuriken roughly translates as the Kobori Schools Eight Pointed Hira Shuriken and they are extremely effective. The eight sharp protruding points almost guarantee that the Shuriken will penetrate the target regardless of how it is thrown although obviously all Shuriken should be thrown utilising proper technique.

The specifications for the Kobori Ryu Happogata are as follows:

Length: 9cm
Width: 9cm
Thickness: 2mm
Type: Happogata – 8 pointed star
Material: Tool Steel/Tempered Steel

The Kobori Ryu Happogata comes from the Kobori Ryu Tosuijutsu school which is primarily focused on Suijutsu (Classical combat swimming and warfare). After doing a bit of research the original Densho of Kobori Ryu Tosuijutsu is actually owned by a private collector who purchased it from an online auction sight after it was lost for 96 years after their most prominent teacher Saruki Muneyasu died on the 5th of October 1912.

Overall the Kobori Ryu Happogata are extremely effective but their is a little room for improvement, They are quite light Hira Shuriken being only 2mm thick so increasing the thickness would provide these Shuriken with substantially improved penetration on the target.

The additional weight would enable the Kobori Ryu Happogata to build up more velocity when travelling to the target after being thrown and considering the tips are not sharpened, you need the additional velocity for them to stick effectively into the target.

In conclusion Kobori Ryu Hira Shuriken are an intermediate level Shuriken, they are extremely effective but you do need a certain degree of skill to control them effectively to be accurate, its definitely a case of using Ken Tai Ichi Jo to propel them directly at the target. They are brilliant for throwing multiple Hira Shuriken at once, I believe this is due to the decreased surface area of the Kobori Ryu Happogata not causing air pressure to separate the individual Hira Shuriken until a later stage in their trajectory toward the target.

A brilliant addition to any Shurikenjutsu practitioners collection although to be accurate with them its good to have developed some proficiency beforehand as they are lighter than some of the other Shuriken.

They will work if you just launch them at the target but thats kind of missing the point of what we are doing when training entirely.