Katana
A katana (often called a "samurai sword") which is a slightly curved sword that was the ninja's main weapon (as seen in the right hand on the picture to the left). The ninja version was slightly shorter than the samurai version because the samurai often fought in a large, open field, and the ninjas used it in close quarters. The picture at the top of this page shows the hilt of a katana. |
Nekode
These are claws that strap onto your hand to help you climb and can also be used as weapons. When climbing, a ninja could dig the claws into the rock to get a better hold. (The claws in the picture are different from the real ones that ninjas used. The real ones would have a metal band going around the palm, and the claws would be facing outwards.) |
Sai
A small knife with two prongs just above the handle. Usually the ends were pointed -- the blades themselves were not sharp -- so it was used in thrusting attacks. It was commonly used by the ninja in pairs to trap an enemy's sword between a prong and the blade and could be twisted to disarm the enemy. |
Shuriken
This is a small dagger, thought of in modern times to always be a star, that can have one to several points. It is meant to be small enough to be concealed behind the hand and is thrown by a ninja simply with the flick of a wrist. These usually were not meant to do great damage, but they could be a surprising distraction. |