The position of village Hokage in Naruto is one that feels highly respected as well as sought-after. This is mostly due to the fact that the series' titular protagonist spends the entirety of both the original series and Shippuden with the goal of eventually becoming Hokage serving as his primary motivation. Combine this with the fact that Hokage are shown to be willing to sacrifice themselves in the name of their village - like the Third and Fourth - and becoming Hokage appears to be a selfless goal.
The system itself appears to be relatively straightforward at first glance: the Hokage is the sole leader of the Hidden Leaf who represents not only the village but its strength as well. Nothing gets by without their knowledge or approval. However, there are many details about the position itself - or the actions of those who don the title of Hokage - that simply don't make any sense.
10 Despite Hashirama Denying The Position Being An Extension Of Senju Clan Authority, It Certainly Appears That Way
The position of Hokage is originally created by Hashirama Senju, though he doesn't appoint himself. He actually intends to make Madara the first Hokage of the village, but its people chose Hashirama instead.
Madara fears that this is the first step towards the Hokage position being little more than an extension of the Senju Clan's authority. And while Hashirama denies this at the time, as it's played out, every single Hokage has had some sort of tie-in to the clan, making it seem less like something anyone could aspire to and more like an exclusivity status.
9 Tsunade Is Chosen Despite Being A Gambling Addict And An Alcoholic
The Hokage is looked up to by everyone else in the village, meaning it's their job to set a good example for those who look to them for guidance. Although they don't have to be a completely squeaky-clean role model (take Naruto, for example, who was an infamous troublemaker when he was young), their bad behavior is typically a thing of the past.
This makes the choice to bring in Lady Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage rather nonsensical. Sure, she's one of the three Legendary Sannin, but she wasn't even living in the village at that time and consistently tries to make time to either gamble or get drunk rather than taking her duties seriously.
8 The Daimyo Is Able To Appoint The Hokage Despite Being Corrupt
Whenever the Hokage is unable to choose a successor for whatever reason, that responsibility then falls to the village's daimyo. Given the fact that daimyo hold the single biggest amount of political power within the country, that immediately seems like a questionable decision.
While it's true that whoever they select then has to be agreed upon by the village's jonin, it's also true that the amount of power and influence they hold may sway them into agreeing with a candidate they may not necessarily want. Combine this with the fact that daimyo have a reputation of needless squabbling and starting wars for no reason, and the decision to let them choose the Hokage sounds less and less like a good idea.
7 Previous Hokage Are Able To Come Out Of Retirement To Reclaim Their Position Despite Factors Like Old Age
The only time that a Hokage can be appointed into office without being chosen by either the previous Hokage or the daimyo is if a retired Hokage reclaims the position after the current Hokage's death. The most notable example of this is when Hiruzen comes out of retirement following the death of the Fourth.
And while this system itself makes sense, what doesn't make sense is that there doesn't seem to be any sort of requirement for a Hokage reclaiming their old position. Things like old age or declining physical strength should be taken into account, but it seems instead like they're able to come back regardless of whether someone new might fit the position better.
6 There Often Is No Semblance Of Work-Life Balance For The Hokage
The Hokage has the most important job in the entire village, overseeing the shinobi within, assigning missions and dealing with all sorts of paperwork. They're also expected to put their lives on the line for the village if the need arises.
Given how tremendously demanding a task being the Hokage is, it doesn't make sense that there wouldn't be some type of way to ensure that they get at least a little downtime. For example, after the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto's so drained by his daily duties that even his inhuman levels of chakra end up depleted, and he has so little time for his family that his eldest son ends up resenting him.
5 Prime Candidates For Hokage Are Passed Over Simply Due To Their Clan Lineage
Despite the fact that the position of Hokage is stated to have nothing to do with lineage, this isn't how things turn out in reality. In actuality, characters who are noted to have the strength and self-sacrificial nature to make a prime candidate for Hokage are passed over due to their lineage.
The biggest example of this is that of Sasuke and Itachi's father, Fugaku Uchiha, who is noted to have power comparable to the legendary Sannin and Minato. He's viewed as a father figure within the Clan as well, and yet his name wasn't even mentioned for a potential Hokage candidate because of his standing as part of the Uchiha clan.
4 The First Hokage Is Democratically Selected But This Process Is Dropped Immediately After
The First Hokage was originally supposed to be Madara and not Hashirama. However, the latter was democratically selected by the people of the village to take the title instead, which in theory should have set up the choosing of Hokage to remain a democratic system.
For some reason, this doesn't end up being the case, and the next Hokage is instead selected by the current one before their passing. Since the Hokage is supposed to be the strongest and most respected ninja within the village, the original democratic system would have felt fairer and made much more sense.
3 The Five Kage Summit Is Created To Discuss Important Matters But Is Held Once And Then Not Again For Many Decades
The Five Kage Summit, a meeting in which leaders from their respective villages can get together and discuss important issues, was originally created by the First Hokage. He does so in order to evenly distribute the Tailed Beasts that Konohagakure had acquired as a sign of goodwill.
The summit itself makes sense, but what doesn't add up is that a second Kage Summit isn't called again until many decades later by the Fourth Hokage. It's hard to believe that, in all that time, there was never another issue that any of the Kage felt was worth bringing up.
2 After Being Appointed Hokage, Hiruzen Allows Danzo To Run Root Despite Their Questionable Actions
During Hiruzen's reign as the Third Hokage, in the anime, he allows Danzo to establish what's known as Root. It's a more ruthless subdivision of the ANBU that's under Danzo's exclusive rule, and it's noted that this is in order to balance out Hiruzen's more empathetic manner of ruling.
This doesn't make much sense, and his decision to do so makes even less sense when Danzo's actions as Root's leader are taken into account. Not only did they perform questionable foreign ops and take actions against Konoha personnel, but they even abduct children, and all of this goes ignored by Hiruzen.
1 Even After Kakashi Becomes The Sixth Hokage, For Over A Year, He Leaves The Managing Of Konoha's Affairs To Tsunade
Kakashi is reluctantly appointed as the Sixth Hokage after the conclusion of the Fourth Shinobi World War. His main gripes with the position are how much paperwork he has to do as well as having to deal with the affairs of Konoha citizens, though the latter is more so because he feels that he's underqualified.
Due to him feeling unqualified for the position, for over a year after the war, he still has Tsunade managing Konoha's affairs. This begs the question of why Kakashi would be appointed to succeed her right after the war to begin with if Tsunade is still handling so much of it herself.