Depending on the practitioner, various things can be used as 'shuriken,' such as the shuriken 'hyo' (also known as Chinese-style), which is shaped like an arrowhead, or unusually heavy and huge shuriken.
矢じりの形の手裏剣「鏢」（中国式ともいわれる）や、異常に重たい巨大な手裏剣も存在し、術者しだいで様々なものが「手裏剣」に変化する。