Naruto Characters - Hokage

Hokage

The Hokage (火影^?, lit. "Fire Shadow") is the leader of Konohagakure. Over the course of the series, there have been five Hokage, who are honored by the village by having sculptures of their faces carved into the rock formation overlooking Konohagakure. The First Hokage (初代火影, Shodai Hokage^?) was Hashirama Senju (千手 柱間, Senju Hashirama^?), who founded the village along with Madara Uchiha. With his unique Mokuton abilities, he created the trees that act as the foundation for Konohagakure, and his method of rule became a model for all subsequent Hokage. The First was succeeded by his younger brother, Tobirama Senju (千手 扉間, Senju Tobirama^?), who became the Second Hokage (二代目火影, Nidaime Hokage^?).^[121] He in turn was followed by one of his students, who became the Third Hokage. After a long rule, the Third abdicated in favor of Minato Namikaze, who took the position of Fourth Hokage, but reclaimed his position after the Fourth gave his life to save the village from the nine-tailed demon fox.^[122] The Third is the Hokage at the beginning of the series, but he is slain in battle by his former student, Orochimaru, during an invasion of Konohagakure by Sunagakure and Otogakure.^[72] Another of his students, Tsunade, succeeds him as the Fifth Hokage.^[53]

Hiruzen Sarutobi

Hiruzen Sarutobi (猿飛 ヒルゼン, Sarutobi Hiruzen^?), the Third Hokage (三代目火影, Sandaime Hokage^?), was the longest-ruling Hokage, having abdicated his position to the Fourth Hokage and subsequently reclaiming it after the Fourth's death.^[121] He is a peace-loving leader, preferring nonviolent discussions to his advisers' more militaristic suggestions. Throughout the series, he acts as a source of wisdom to younger generations and is one of the few characters to treat Naruto Uzumaki as a person and not just the container of the nine-tailed demon fox. In his youth the Third was known as "The Professor" (プロフェッサー, Purofessā^?), as he purportedly knew every jutsu in Konohagakure. He was also the teacher of Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. Orochimaru had always been his favorite student, and the Third could never bring himself to recognize Orochimaru's evil qualities. When Orochimaru invades Konoha years later, the Third fights him to repent for never prosecuting Orochimaru as he should have.^[123] When he is unable to win, the Third robs Orochimaru of his ability to use jutsu, bringing an end to the invasion and thus allowing him to die happy.^[72] In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Hidekatsu Shibata, and his English voice actor is Steve Kramer.^[124][125]

Minato Namikaze

Minato Namikaze (波風 ミナト, Namikaze Minato^?), the Fourth Hokage (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage^?), is the father of Naruto Uzumaki. Although Naruto and Minato are noted to have a number of similar traits throughout the series, their familial relationship is not revealed until Part II of the series.^[126] He was the student of Jiraiya and the teacher of Kakashi Hatake. Minato was a prodigy among ninja, such that enemy villages issued flee-on-sight orders if ever he appeared on a battlefield. He developed a jutsu that was in essence a teleportation jutsu, allowing him to wipe out whole armies in the blink of an eye, thus earning him the title of "Konoha's Yellow Flash" (木ノ葉の黄色い閃光, Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō^?).^[127] Before the start of the series, he gave his life to seal the nine-tailed demon fox into Naruto's body, saving Konoha from destruction and giving Naruto access to its great strength.^[122]

 Tsunade

Tsunade (綱手^?), as well as her former teammates Jiraiya and Orochimaru, is a former student of the Third Hokage.^[33] She is also the granddaughter of the First Hokage and grand niece to the Second Hokage, and so many characters in the series refer to her with the Japanese honorific "hime" (meaning "princess"). Despite her connections to past Hokage, Tsunade hates the position when she is first introduced. After her brother and boyfriend died in pursuit of their dreams to become Hokage, she lost faith in the title and the concept of dreams. She regains her faith in both after meeting Naruto Uzumaki, who consistently overcomes any obstacle in his own dreams of being Hokage.^[53] As a result, Tsunade accepts the position of Fifth Hokage (五代目火影, Godaime Hokage^?) to protect Konohagakure.^[128] Despite the importance of her position, Tsunade tends to avoid her duties, instead leaving them for her assistants. She will fulfill her role to address matters important to the village, and throughout Part II leads Konoha in combating Akatsuki.^[36]

Tsunade possesses a number of traits that set her apart from other characters in the series, such as being a compulsive gambler with terrible luck. On the rare occasions that she hits a winning streak she perceives it as a bad omen, and makes it a point to fortify her defenses or assist her allies when it occurs. Additionally, although she is in her fifties, she constantly assumes the appearance of a twenty-year-old woman, retaining only her characteristically big breasts.^[129] Despite her odd personality Tsunade is a talented ninja; she has superhuman strength that allows her to reduce buildings to rubble and can heal injuries that most others would consider incurable. Her healing abilities are such that she has devised a method of regeneration for herself, making her all but invincible in battle.^[128] At the conclusion of Part I, Tsunade takes Sakura Haruno as an apprentice, teaching her how to use both of her trademark abilities. In the Japanese anime, Tsunade's seiyū is Masako Katsuki, and her English voice actor is Debi Mae West.^[130][131]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia