In the ninja world of Naruto, special villages called "Hidden Villages" were created for shinobi to live together in harmony. The protagonist, Naruto, comes from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure, with the hopes of one day becoming its respected Hokage leader.
As Naruto's beloved homes, Konohagakure is featured and mentioned quite regularly in the anime. Famous for overcoming many tough battles and its Mount Rushmore inspired mountain of legendary faces, Konohagakure is definitely the village we know best. At the same time, there are also some lesser-known details about the Leaf Village that we might have overlooked.
10 The Headband Symbol
One of the most memorable moments in a ninja's career is when they pass the academy graduation exam and become a genin. As a sign of their ninja status, they are given a headband to wear with the pride of their village. Each village has their own unique headband symbol, and Konohagakure's symbol is something that is either very obvious and apparent or simply ignored.
At first glance, the symbol may resemble a bird with its pointed tip as the beak. But after taking the word origin of "Konohagakure" into consideration, what the symbol represents is clear. It's a leaf.
9 The Hidden Fourth Clan Of The Ino-Shika-Cho Trio
Everyone knows that the Yamanakas, Naras, and Akimichis have a long history of working together as ninja. As illustrated by Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, the three clans are always grouped together in a power formation known as the "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio.
What some people may not know, however, is that a fourth clan, the Sarutobi Clan, plays a very important role in this trio. For example, Asuma Sarutobi was not only the leader of the Ino-Shika-Cho Team, but also the one who presented them with matching earrings to symbolize the strong bond of their clans.
8 Has The Most Kages In History
Across the Hidden Villages, there are five Kage who lead and represent the villages of Sunagakure, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Konohagakure. A Kage is often considered one of the strongest ninja of their village and therefore holds a large amount of power in decisions to better their people.
In particular, Konohagakure has gone through a handful of seven talented Hokage with Naruto as the current one. With seven Hokage in history, the village seems to run through them at a relatively quick pace compared to Iwagakure's four Tsuchikage and Sunagakure's five Kazekage.
7 Tobirama's Contribution To The Village
Out of the seven Hokage, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, is probably the most overlooked. He was one of three Hokage who had already died prior to the start of the series and is often overshadowed by Hashirama, his brother and the First Hokage.
That being said, Tobirama made a lot of big contributions to Konohagakure in its early stages. He was the Hokage who created the Ninja Academy, Anbu, and Chunin Exams as a way to equip the village with well-trained ninja and prepare for the tough battles ahead.
6 Symbiotic Relationship Between Naruto & Ichiraku Ramen
It's no secret that Naruto loves ramen. He will consume any kind of ramen, instant or not, in large quantities, but his favorite ramen shop has to be Konohagakure's Ichiraku Ramen. Since he was a child, Naruto has been a loyal customer of Ichiraku Ramen, which seems to have grown right alongside him.
In its early stage, Ichiraku Ramen was a very small ramen stand that always provided young Naruto with a place of comfort during his hard times. However, as Naruto became more respected throughout the village, Ichiraku Ramen also flourished as the restaurant endorsed by the Hokage himself.
5 Nobility Of The Aburame & Akimichi Clans
Of Konohagakure's many powerful clans, the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan are often referred to as the noble and elite ones of the bunch due to the existence of their rare dojutsu, the Sharingan and Byakugan. As it turns out, there are two other clans who also have a noble status in Konohagakure, the Aburame and Akimichi clans.
The Aburame Clan is known for their use of Insect Techniques which involves the insects living inside their bodies. Meanwhile, the Akimichi Clan uses their hefty body weight to their advantage by initiating attacks with massive impact.
4 Hokage Mentors & Successors
Since the time of the Second Hokage, there's been a trend that has been passed down from Hokage to Hokage. Whether it was coincidental or not, each Hokage was once the teacher or mentor of a Hokage who would come after them. The only inconsistency between the Second and Seventh Hokages was Tsunade.
The Second Hokage trained the Third Hokage, who trained Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. While Tsunade was the one to eventually become Hokage, Jiraiya was the one to train both the Fourth Hokage and Naruto. From there, the Fourth Hokage taught Kakashi, who then taught Naruto.
3 Orochimaru Could Have Been Hokage
Orochimaru is one of the most prominent villains in the Naruto franchise with a lot on his resume. He not only assassinated the Third Hokage but also made it his mission to kidnap Sasuke and take over his body.
But before he turned into a full-fledged villain, Orochimaru had a lot of potential going for him as a Konoha Shinobi. Trained by the Third Hokage, Orochimaru was one of the Legendary Sannin who were hailed as heroes in the Second Shinobi War. With his intelligence and talents, the Third Hokage believed Orochimaru could have been Konohagakure's leader.
2 The Meaning Behind The Red Swirl
Many ninja of Konohagakure sport the same attire with the same design. For example, the iconic green vest and dark clothing that Iruka wears is the standard outfit for Konoha ninja. Those clothes are marked with a very bold red swirl.
However, rather than being a design for style, the red swirl actually represents something much deeper in the history of Konohagakure. Long ago, Konohagakure was on good terms with Uzushiogakure, home of the Uzumaki Clan. With Uzushiogakure's destruction, its culture was thankfully kept alive by Konohagakure as seen with its red swirl.
1 Ties Between The Uzumaki & Senju Clans
Based on how poorly Naruto was treated by the villagers at the beginning of the series, no one would have expected the orphan protagonist to come from a clan of such historical and cultural significance to Konohagakure.
As it turns out, the Uzumaki Clan is connected to the famous Senju Clan in different ways. Both stemming from Asura Otsutsuki, the Uzumaki and Senju clans are distant relatives by blood. In addition, Hashirama Senju married and had a family with a member of the Uzumaki Clan. This means Hashirama's granddaughter, Tsunade, has some Uzumaki blood in her.