Highlights
- Key takeaways:
- Bukijutsu is a ninja art focused on using different weapons in combat, including projectiles, bladed weapons, blunt weapons, and more.
- Shinobi often imbue their weapons with chakra to enhance their offensive capabilities or alter the weapon’s properties.
- Different subcategories of bukijutsu exist, such as shurikenjutsu (projectiles), kenjutsu (swordplay), and explosive tags (enhancing other attacks). It is a widely practiced ninja art in the Naruto series.
Shinobi in the world of Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto are trained in a variety of combat styles based on natural aptitude, village-based specializations, and situational factors. While ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu are the most commonly practiced among the ninja arts, there also exist additional techniques which complement these fighting styles to great effect. One such category is the broad classification of bukijutsu or “weapon techniques,” which revolves around the use of weapons of all sizes, shapes, and varieties.
Certain individuals such as Tenten, Temari, and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist use weapons as the foundation of their combat style, whereas others such as Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hanzo use them to enhance their ninjutsu and taijutsu abilities. From sword wielders to shuriken specialists and everything in between, bukijutsu is one of the most widely practiced ninja arts, even if it was never officially named in Naruto, as it often flies under the radar due to its ubiquity.
What Is Bukijutsu?
Simply put, bukijutsu is centered on the use of different kinds of weapons for combat. This can range from mid and long range projectiles such as shuriken, kunai, explosive tags, and arrows, to short and mid-range bladed weapons like swords, sickles, or a kusarigama, and even blunt weapons like a bo (staff), gunbai, puppets, and war fans. Most shinobi are trained to use kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags from an early age, even if they do not display any innate talent for it. Shinobi usually keep their weapons sealed within scrolls to make them easier to transport and access in combat scenarios.
In short, a shinobi’s effectiveness at bukijutsu stems from how inventive they are in their use of weapons in tandem with other skill sets. More often than not, ninja imbue their weapons with chakra, either to alter the weapon’s properties or add nature transformation techniques which augment its offensive potential. Some weapons, such as the Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths may also possess special properties of their own, lending a decisive advantage to their users in combat. There are a number of different subcategories of bukijutsu, corresponding to the type of weapons involved.
From Bladed Weapons And Projectiles To Staffs And War Fans
Perhaps the most prominent of all bukijutsu is the subcategory of shurikenjutsu, which represents one of the earliest skills that shinobi are taught as students in a hidden village’s academy. They are introduced to it from a young age, and employ it in some capacity throughout their careers. Members of the Uchiha clan are especially skilled when it comes to using shuriken and kunai as projectiles, with individuals such as Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha having displayed immense creativity in their use of projectiles.
Other forms of projectile weapons such as bows and arrows are quite rarely observed in Naruto, and they are almost always produced from a shinobi’s chakra. The associated subcategory is known as kyujutsu (literally translated as “bow techniques”), and some of the techniques which employ it at a higher level include the projectiles fired by Sasuke Uchiha’s Susanoo, and Kidomaru’s Spider War Bow: Terrible Split technique.
After shurikenjutsu, the most commonly observed weapon technique is undoubtedly the art of swordplay, which is referred to as kenjutsu in the series. Notable kenjutsu practitioners include the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who wielded legendary blades with special abilities that took years to fully master. This subcategory is quite prominent among shinobi from Kirigakure and Kumogakure, with individuals such as Killer B, Darui, Zabuza Momochi, Mangetsu Hozuki, Kisame Hoshigaki, Chojuro, and Sasuke Uchiha regarded as especially powerful sword wielders.
Mid-range bladed weapons include the kusarigama, which consists of a sickle linked to a chain which can be swung around with the aid of a weight attached to the other end. Hanzo of the Salamander is the only character who consistently used this weapon in combat, although the Triple-Bladed Scythe used by Hidan of the Akatsuki was also wielded similarly. For blunt weapons, the bo (a type of staff) is among the more widely employed varieties of this subcategory, with members of the Akimichi clan generally using it in battle. Additionally, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was also able to use his personal summon Enma as a massive staff to great effiect.
When looking at long range weapons, the playing field mainly consists of war fans and the Puppet Technique, which are both associated with Sunagakure. The use of war fans bears some similarity to the real world art of tessenjutsu, as they can be employed for both defensive measures and as blunt weapons at short range, as was the case of the Gunbai Uchiwa used by Madara and later, Obito Uchiha. However, the most common application of war fans in the series was by shinobi of Sunagakure such as Temari, who used them to augment their long range Wind Release ninjutsu.
Finally, explosive tags make up the last subcategory of bukijutsu, which is similar to rhe real world art of kayakujutsu (“gunpowder techniques”). This skill set involves the use of explosive tags to enhance other weapon-based attacks as well as ninjutsu and taijutsu exchanges. Some individuals such as Konan and Hanzo have exploited the benefits of explosive tags to great effect, using them to overwhelm opponents and leave them unable to free themselves from the barrage of explosions going off around them.
Naruto is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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