Origami Ninja Star - Origami Shuriken Folding Instructions

The ninja star is known as "Shuriken" in Japanese. This origami ninja star is a true classic! Kids around the world have spent countless hours playing with this origami masterpiece, whether pretending to be ninja warriors on a mission or having competitions to see whose origami ninja star will fly the farthest!

Check out our video below, and our photo instructions below that:

Origami Ninja Star Video

Origami Ninja Star Step 1: Start with 2 pieces of square origami paper color sides down. You can use the same color if you want. I used 2 different colors so that it's easier to see.

Origami Ninja Star Step 2: Fold them in half. This is called a book fold. Crease well and unfold.

Origami Ninja Star Step 3: Fold both halves of each paper to meet the center crease. This is called a cupboard fold.

Origami Ninja Star Step 4: OK, we will now fold each paper in half along the vertical axis.

Origami Ninja Star Step 5: Fold them in half along the horizontal axis. Crease and unfold.

Origami Ninja Star Step 6: We now need to fold on the dash lines as shown below. Notice that the folds are now opposite of one another.

Origami Ninja Star Step 7: Let's fold the top parts first. Fold along the diagonal so that the edges line up and you form a triangle.

Origami Ninja Star Step 8: Let's now fold the bottom parts.

This is what you should have now:

Origami Ninja Star Step 9: We now need to make 4 diagonal folds as shown by the dash lines below.

Origami Ninja Star Step 10: Let's fold the left (purple) one first. Bring the top half over to the right and crease well. Bring the bottom half over to the left. The dash lines show where the crease should be.

Origami Ninja Star Step 11: Let's work on the yellow one now. The yellow is the opposite of the purple. So, let's fold the top half over to the left and the bottom half over to the right. Crease where the dash lines are in the picture below.

Origami Ninja Star Step 12: OK, Now flip the purple one only.

Origami Ninja Star Step 13: Now rotate the yellow one 90 degrees counter clockwise so that it's like in the picture below.

Origami Ninja Star Step 14: Now place the yellow paper on top of the purple like so.

Origami Ninja Star Step 15: OK, now comes the somewhat tricky part. We will fold the purple over on both ends and fit them under the yellow paper.

See the white dash lines? Fold the top triangle over on the white dash line and fit the tip under the yellow flap. Fold the bottom triangle over on the white dash line and fit the tip under the yellow flap.

Follow the photos below.

Here's looking at them from the side:

Origami Ninja Star Step 16: FLIP Paper over and this is what you should see.

Origami Ninja Star Step 17: We will now fold the yellow tips over and fit them under the purple flap. It will be a snug fit!

Origami Ninja Star Step 18: FLIP paper over. After all your hard work, this is your origami ninja star! You can now start throwing it...just not at people!

This is one popular origami and we've photos to prove it! Check out the many photos we've received from readers who've folded this origami ninja stars!