When we imagine Konoha, we think of a bright, colorful shinobi village. Die-hard fans who grew up watching Naruto might recall landmarks where the characters usually hung out.
Naruto would grab a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku and Shikamaru’s team would hang out at the local Yakiniku store. Shinobis could walk the steps to Hokage Rock or relax at Konoha’s Hot Springs. If a real Konoha existed on Earth, fans would quickly book plane tickets for an exclusive tour of the village.
There are plenty of unique tidbits of information about the village that many fans never met. On the surface, Konoha has over thirty-five known locations, including anime-only areas. The village houses at least seventeen known clans. The population is estimated at 80,000 people. The villagers believe in the Will of Fire, where true strength lies within the bonds we make with people.
Though most would see it as a backdrop in the animated series, Konoha has more than what it lets on. In fact, there are many interesting things about its culture, the village infrastructures, and history that we’ve missed under the radar.
Here are the 15 Things Fans Never Knew About Naruto's Konoha Village!
15. The Hokage Position Is Cursed
Konoha might be the worst place to be the Kage. According to Boruto, the Hokage profession is cursed. The Hokage position isn’t as grand as people would expect, despite young Naruto's yearning for the position.
As we saw with the First to the Fourth Hokage, the leaders typically end up dead. Hashirama may have defeated Madara and the Kurama, but he prematurely died. His brother, Toribama took the reins but was killed in combat.
Hiruzen later became the leader of the village, but his era suffered three Shinobi World Wars. He passed the torch onto Minato, but well... we know what happened to him. Hiruzen was forced out of retirement, and later met his end by the hands of his disciples and the reanimated corpse of Toribama and Senju.q
Danzo was also killed. Kakashi is only the one that made it out alive, but given that the prologue has shown Konoha, razed down to the grown again, it’s unclear if the any of the villagers survived that attack. It’s hinted that Naruto is dead in the Boruto series, and Tsunade nearly died and resigned.
14. It was Built to Bridge Peace Between Uchiha And Senju Clan
Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara founded the village together to settle the clans’ multi-generational war. When they were kids, they weren’t aware that they were from the warring clans. Slowly, they caught on and knew they were destined to kill each other.
They both lost their siblings to the war. Both clans suffered losses and were also fatigued by the ongoing cycle. When Hashirama defeated Madara, he spared Madara and offered terms of peace. Madara initially refused, until Hashirama offered his life to end the cycle.
The area where the two clans battled to the death became known as the foundation for peace. Hashirama then adopted the “Will of Fire” principle. Konoha was built in order to settle the clan wars and prevent shinobi wars.
Konoha’s founding prompted a brief era of peace, which ended the warring between the two states as other villages followed their example.
13. Madara Uchiha Named the Village While Hashirama Built Konoha's Foundation
Madara Uchiha named the village Konohagakure. The name came from a leaf that he picked up. He looked at the village through the leaf and named it the settlement "Village of the Hidden Leaf."
At first, Hashirama wasn't fond of the name, he accepted the name. However, Hashirama built the foundation of Konoha. His Wood Release Form technique built the infrastructure of the buildings which created the entire village.
Madara would eventually come to destroy and wage war on the very village that he helped create. While he tried to keep the peace with Hashirama, Madara soon realized that the Uchiha clan couldn't break free from its warring nature.
Their Sharingan eyes are activated by the sight of someone killed by grief, which is why the clan doesn't follow with “The Will of Fire” philosophy. In a way, Madara was right because no Uchiha has yet taken the mantle of Hokage-- yet.
12. The Naruto Shanghai Exhibition Built A Real Life Konoha
There was a real-life set of Konoha in the Naruto Shanghai exhibition. Voice actors Junko Takeuchi and Noriaki Sugiyama even attended the opening week, while Kazuhiko Inoue left a video message for fans because he couldn't attend due to schedule conflicts.
Shanghai hosted this event in 2016 as a one-time only occasion. Although it’s not the same rendition, the exhibition got a few things right. They had Ichiraku Ramen shop and the life-size stone mountain of Hashirama and Madara.
Fans could explore the Hokage residence and the Shinobi Academy. In addition, the attendees could view life-sized Naruto character models around the area. These included characters such as Sakura and Nejii. Jiraiya, Sasuke, and Naruto were included in the life-size town. The expo lasted for a month, so fans had the chance to experience life in Konoha.
11. Naruto’s Apartment is Listed On Fiction Movoto
Movoto has a fictional real estate site for pop culture fans estimate the net worth of certain properties. Ever wanted to know how much Peach’s Castle is worth? Or Hogwarts' estimate value? How much does Asgard from Thor cost?
According to page, Naruto’s apartment, which a single bedroom, is worth $100,00o (about $388/month), which is within the budget of an average citizen in Konoha. Compared to the other fictional properties, Naruto’s apartment is affordable.
It’s just a block away from Ichiraku Ramen house. However, movers interested in this property may want to take insurance. Konoha is frequently attacked or destroyed to the ground. After Pain's assault and Kurama's attack, it's expected that disasters happen at least once ever few years.
10. The Characters Written On Konoha’s Gate Means Hermitage
The characters on the gate of the Konoha village have a secret meaning behind them. Konoha’s main gates have two Hiragana characters: "A" and "N." If put together they spell out “An,” which means hidden or hermitage in Japanese.
Konoha was established as a village of peace, and was hidden from the other nations. It includes those who wish to find shelter from the war torn nations and wish to seek shelter within the gates of Konoha.
The exterior of Konoha is made out of wood, resembling to the tori gates from traditional Japanese villages. Medieval Japan would typically have these gates within their cities. Before the Boruto series, the gates and the buildings resembled the Meiji era, with some anachronistic infrastructure.
9. There Are Multiple Clans Aside From Senju and Uchiha
In total, there are 17 clans that are currently living in Konoha. The major clans Uchiha and Senju may have founded the village, but other clans exist who too.
The people of Konoha grew from the ground up and believed in Hashirama’s ideals. Konoha's clans aren't defined by nobility, which serves as their surnames. However, the members do play a significant in Konoha’s history and future.
The Hyuga clan, for example, foster the Byakugan Technique, which gives the village a field advantage. The Umazaki clan has possessed Kurama, the Nine-tailed fox, for the last two generations.
There are four distinct noble classes: Akimichi, Aburame, Hyuga, and Uchiha. These four are prominent members of Konoha. The clan members play an important in a number of council meetings.
When Kurama attacked, it costed Minato his life, and thus forced the clan members to unite as one.
8. The Second Hokage Laid Out the Shinobi Infrastructure That We Know Today
Tobirama Senju doesn’t get enough credit for his service to the Konoha village. At a young age, Tobirama believed that children shouldn't be fighting in their parents' war. In fact, he very much agreed with his brother's ideals. When his brother passed away, Tobirama had to carry on Hashirama’s legacy. Like his brother, Tobirama laid down the foundation of the modern shinobi.
He founded the Shinobi academy and set up the Chunin exams in order to prepare young ninjas for the field. The Anbu was created in order to deal with the Uchiha, as they were dissatisfied with their current displacement and didn't get along with the rest of Konoha.
Tobirama put the Uchiha members in charge of the military police. The exams and missions were created by the second Hokage. Though he wasn't always liked, Tobirama believed in Hashirama’s philosophy of the Will of Fire. He believed that shinobis could rule in peace.
7. The Village Suffered Through Four Shinobi Wars
Although the Hidden Leaf Village aimed for peace, this didn’t always mean that Konoha was at peace. For instance, Konoha suffered through four Shinobi World Wars. It seems as though Konoha can’t get out of wars, as the village is consequently attacked by foreign invaders.
Hinata would acknowledge this fact in the series, since most of the missions were unsafe compared to the ones accomplished during Boruto’s lifetime. While the village appears intact, fans have probably lost count of the number of times that it has been destroyed. Before the Shippuden arc, Orochimaru attacked and killed the village's Hokage. Another example of this was when Hiruzen used the Anbu to carry out missions so that the village wouldn’t have to suffer.
When Naruto became the seventh Hokage, he became the peacemaker of the village and helped restore the balance with other villages. With both Kakashi and Naruto’s guidance, Konoha has finally achieved peace.
6. The Village is Modelled After Kishimoto’s Native Town
Konoha is actually modelled after Kishimoto’s hometown. Kishimoto was borned in Nagi, in the Katsuta District. His hometown is also part of Okayama, which is known for the famous Okayama castle.
Nagi is a small town, which has a population of roughly 5,800 people. Those who travel there might find similarities between the town and Konoha. At a distant, the town looks like a mirror image of Konoha.
They even have a training ground for Japan's Self Defense Force. Kishimoto sketched out the settings while working out the plot details of the Naruto manga. Naruto underwent a number of drafts until Kishimoto settled with the idea of ninjas in a setting that resembled his home town. Konoha, if mapped out, is actually the central hub of the Naruto universe.
Fans can find other external places that influenced the inner workings of Konoha. For example, Hokage Rock is an obvious reference to Mount Rushmore in the USA.
5. None of the Hokages Are Related to the Uchiha Clan
Each Hokage after Hashirama believed in the Will of Fire philosophy. Every Hokage that has served as a leader of Konoha is either a descendant of the Senju clan, with the exception of a few who came from non-noble origins.
According to Madara, the Uchiha people will never be able to adopt the Will of Fire philosophy. He also believes the the life of the Shinobi is to repeat the cycle of war. This conflict stems from Indra and Asura and their sibling rivalry.
The Uchiha clan followed their roots and formed the military branch of Konoha. They became a part of the Anbu not only so that they could have a military influence, but also so that the leaders of Konoha could keep a watch on them.
4. Will of Fire Philosophical History
Since its founding, Konoha believed in Hashirama’s philosophy-- the Will of Fire. The Will of Fire was originally conceived by Asura Otsutsuki, who believed that the strength of shinobi was created through the bonds that are shared between ninja.
Hashirama followed these beliefs rigorously and called them "the Will of Fire" when he and Madara founded the village. The Will of Fire aims to end the cycle of hatred and believes that true strength lies among the people.
After Senju, the philosophy was adopted by the Hokage and the Konoha villagers, though each had their own interpretation of it. In the face of adversity, Hiruzen believed that it is important to pass the Will of Fire onto each generation.
Asuma and Shikamaru believed that the philosophy focused on protecting the future generation-- this was their duty was to the village.
3. Pain’s Assault Completely Destroyed the Village
Konoha had to deal with a number of assaults from outside invaders. For example, Orochimaru infiltrated the Chunin exams, Kurama wreaked havoc on Konoha's buildings, and the Akatsuki terrorized the village.
Pain was the first antagonist who destroyed Konoha and brought the village to the ground. Pain and the Akatsuki deliberately blew up Konoha. A majority of the villagers died in the attack, as did several shinobi. In the end, Nagato decides to revive everyone in Konoha, but the buildings are still long gone.
After Pain's assault, the villagers rebuild the city's foundation. They set up temporary bases until the village is fully reconstructed.
However, Obito triggered another Shinobi World War and Konoha to undergo damages yet again. However, despite the long hurdles, Konoha managed to recover and became a better city than it had ever been before.
2. It is Currently In a Technological Revolution
The Fourth Shinobi War had drastic effects on Konoha and the ninja universe at large. However, since all of the Kages were brought together to fight as allies, the five Kages improved their diplomacy.
For the first time in ages, Konoha did not have a major conflict. During this time of peace, Naruto and Kakashi improved the relations of the other major Kages. The generation after this enjoyed an era that was free of conflict.
Naruto and his allies rebuilt Konoha and turned it into a thriving community. Since they are no longer at war, new technology was created that allowed for immense growth of the economy. Skyscrapers, computers, and video games were created.
In the current time, Shinobi students no longer take missions that are involved in another village's conflict. Chunin exams are seen as optional. Konoha has evolved into a metropolitan city.
1. There is a Real Ichiraku Ramen Shop
We have seen Naruto eat at Ichiraku multiple of times in the series, and thus many fans have been curious whether or not a real Ichiraku ramen exists. The original inspiration for the ramen was from Masahi Kishimoto’s local ramen shop located in Fukouka.
Though the original Ichiraku shop closed, there are multiple Ichiraku restuarants located elsewhere in Japan. According to Sora News 24, there is one located in the Shime Branch in Fukouka. The ramen shop opens at 11 AM.
Due to the shop’s popularity, fans that decide to venture to the shop should expect a long line. As part of the promotion for the manga series, the shop often sells Naruto instant ramen cup and Naruto towelettes for fans to take home.
While the real Ichiraku ramen is a continent away, there are Naruto themed restaurants in the USA. For example, there is an Ichiraku shop in New York, and another one in Los Angeles.
---
Can you think of any other interesting facts about Naruto's main village? Sound off in the comments!