How to Make an Origami Ninja Shuriken
Transform two square sheets of paper into a crisp, interlocking four-point origami ninja star with balanced folds and clean locking seams.
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🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Bone folder or plastic ruler
- ✓ Flat, smooth work surface
- ✓ Precision paper creaser or craft stick
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ 2 sheets of square origami paper (15x15 cm, contrasting colors work best)
- ✓ Lightweight cardstock or printer paper cut into squares (optional alternative)
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Smooth all creases using a flat tool rather than your fingernails to prevent paper cuts.
- • Never throw finished origami shurikens directly at people's faces, pets, or fragile home items.
- • Avoid using excessively rigid or sharp-edged cardstock for throwing models.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Fold Base Strips
Take both square sheets of paper and place them flat on your work surface. Fold each sheet in half horizontally from top to bottom, crease firmly, and then fold in half horizontally once more to create two narrow, identical rectangular strips.
- • Two long, narrow multi-layer paper strips of identical width
- • Clean, flat parallel edges on both strips
- • Uneven alignment of the long edges, causing lopsided final star points
Fold Mirror-Image Angle Ends
Fold each strip in half end-to-end to create a center vertical crease, then unfold. On the first strip, fold the left end down along a 45-degree angle from the center crease and the right end up at 45 degrees. On the second strip, do the exact mirror opposite: fold the left end up and the right end down.
- • Two strips that are mirror opposites of each other, forming stylized Z or S shapes
- • Sharp 45-degree angled corners extending from the center crease
- • Folding both strips in the exact same orientation instead of mirroring them, making them impossible to interlock
Shape Triangular Flaps
Turn the strips so the flat folded side faces up. Take the square tabs at each end and fold their outer corners inward at a 45-degree angle to create sharp, triangular points on all four ends.
- • Each unit features two distinct triangular points angled toward the center body
- • Edges align cleanly without overlapping past the center line
- • Folding the triangles in the wrong direction, creating trapezoids instead of sharp triangles
Position and Intersect Units
Fold the newly formed triangular points inward toward the center to create pre-creased flaps, then open them slightly. Lay one unit horizontally on the table with its flaps facing up, and place the second unit vertically across it with its smooth side facing up to form a plus or 'X' shape.
- • A perpendicular cross configuration with four loose triangular flaps extending outward
- • Smooth back of the top unit resting against the open pocket side of the bottom unit
- • Placing both units with the same side facing up, which prevents pockets from aligning
Tuck the First Side Flaps
Fold the top and bottom triangular flaps of the bottom horizontal unit over the vertical unit. Tuck the pointed tip of each flap securely under the diagonal pocket seams formed by the center of the vertical unit.
- • Two opposing star points locked securely into the front pockets
- • Flat, tight seams with no buckling paper
- • Forcing the tips into pockets without pre-creasing, which can tear the paper
Flip and Lock Final Points
Flip the entire assembly over to reveal the remaining two loose flaps on the back. Fold each remaining triangular flap inward and firmly tuck their tips into the diagonal pockets on this reverse side, completing the four-point interlocking lock.
- • A symmetrical four-point star with all four tips firmly locked into internal pockets
- • Flat, rigid structure on both sides with no loose or floating tabs
- • Leaving tabs half-tucked, which causes the shuriken to disassemble in mid-air
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by Paper aviation — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Origami paper? Standard printer paper cut into a perfect square
- No Bone folder? Back of a spoon or a thumbnail to press creases