There is little historical documentation currently available on the shuriken art, the Japanese martial art of blade throwing, perhaps in part because it was a rather secretive art. Shuriken translates as "hand hidden blade." There are basically two types of shuriken: bo shuriken, which are thin, long and cylindrical blades; and shaken, which are flat plates of metal. As mentioned earlier, Hiyori no Ki, the record of the Later Three Year War has a passage that describes holding a short blade in the palm and throwing it. It is believed that this may be the origin of the term shuriken. There are various types of shuriken today, which suggests that the development of the art was fragmented among areas and schools.
Knife throwing was instrumental to Native Americans when they were fighting in battles. For Native Americans, warfare was not only a physical experience but also spiritual. When they fought with enemy Indian tribes their weapons of choice were either throwing knives or tomahawks.
Aside from being a combat skill, knife throwing is a sport, art and entertainment. With regard to it being a sport, knife-throwing competitions began in the 1800s. Fur trappers would gather once a year with traders and Indians to swap furs for supplies. They would carouse and contests of skill would take place. Modern-day mountain men in several states gather still to recreate the event.
Since the 19th century, knife-throwing performers have entertained people in Europe and America. The circus development in the 19th and 20th century helped catapult the art. By the 1930s, moving targets, such as the circular, spinning target board known as the Wheel of Death, were a trend. European impalement artists used moving targets in the 1930s, and husband and wife team The Gibsons from Germany have been credited with bringing the infamous Wheel of Death to the United States in 1938.
One of the first pieces of entertainment ever broadcast on television was a knife-throwing act. In 1936 when BBC started the first practical television service with experimental transmission it produced variety shows with circus acts, including knife throwing. A more recent example is "America's Got Talent," which featured a knife-throwing act in 2007.