|
|
Hashirama Senju (千手柱間, Senju Hashirama) was a member and leader of the famed Senju clan. He was hailed as the God of Shinobi (忍の神, Shinobi no Kami) for his unmatched ninja prowess. Hashirama sought peace for the shinobi world, and to that end founded Konohagakure with his clan, his childhood friend and rival: Madara Uchiha, and the Uchiha clan. He would later become the First Hokage (初代火影, Shodai Hokage, Literally meaning: First or Founding Fire Shadow) of Konohagakure. Although he was not able to achieve peace during his lifetime, his legacy and vision for the world would continue to shape the village and the entire shinobi world even after his death.
Background[]
Hashirama meeting Madara.
Hashirama was born during the Warring States Period, the eldest of Butsuma Senju’s four sons. Hashirama and his brothers grew up on the battlefield waging constant war with the Senju’s rivals: the Uchiha. During his infrequent downtime, Hashirama met a boy his own age named Madara. The two quickly developed a friendly rivalry, be it skipping stones or urinating in rivers, with Hashirama typically winning their contests.[1] Hashirama did not approve of this practice of sending children to fight and die, believing it would only increase the bitterness between the Senju and Uchiha, thus causing more deaths.
Hashirama and his family attend Kawarama’s funeral.
After the deaths of their brothers, Kawarama and later Itama, Hashirama and his remaining brother, Tobirama, decided a new shinobi system would need to be implemented to end the cycle of child deaths, a system that would require an alliance between the Senju and Uchiha. Like Hashirama, Madara was also a shinobi who had lost brothers on the battlefield. Together they imagined a world where children like themselves would not need to fight and where their brothers would be safe from harm.[2] As a precaution, Hashirama and Madara did not divulge their family names, but nevertheless discovered each other’s identities: Hashirama was a Senju, Madara was an Uchiha; it was their duty to kill each other. Hashirama set this duty aside, unwilling to take his friend’s life. Madara, however, decided their dreams of a peaceful world were impossible, and therefore ended their friendship so that they could kill each other without reservation.[3]
Hashirama and Madara clash on the battlefield.
Over the following years Hashirama and Madara continued to meet in combat. Hashirama could never bring himself to kill someone he still considered a friend, and Madara could never defeat Hashirama’s superior abilities. In time, both Madara and Hashirama became leaders of their respective clans. Under Hashirama’s leadership and extraordinary ninja prowess, the Senju began to best the Uchiha clan. At one point, Hashirama had both Madara and Izuna at his mercy; however, unable to find the resolve to kill his childhood friend, Hashirama tried to convince Madara to unite their two clans to make their childhood dreams a reality. A mortally wounded Izuna convinced Madara otherwise and they retreated, prompting Hashirama to send a ceasefire request. Although some Uchiha found the offer increasingly tempting, Madara was unwilling to accept after Tobirama killed his last remaining brother, Izuna. This did not stop some Uchiha from defecting to the Senju out of self-preservation.[4] Wracked with grief, Madara made one final stand against Hashirama and the Senju and was summarily defeated. Tobirama attempted to kill Madara to finally end the fighting, but Hashirama stopped him, knowing that would only renew hostilities between the Senju and Uchiha. At Madara’suggestion, Hashirama offered to kill himself to achieve a peaceful resolution. As he was about to end his own life, Madara stopped him, moved by the gesture, and assented to peace.[5].
Konohagakure is formed.
The Senju, the Uchiha, and all their affiliated clans came together to found a village of peace, where children would never need to die in battle. Hashirama and Madara, rekindling their childhood friendship, called that village Konohagakure. The other countries would soon follow Konohagakure’s example and build their own hidden villages. It was his wish that Madara become Hokage, the village’s leader and protector.[6] At Tobirama’s insistence, the Hokage position was democratically elected, and in the end it was Hashirama that was chosen for the office.[7][8] Hashirama wanted Madara to work with him as a brother and as his right hand so that he could improve his standing among the villagers and someday succeed him as Second Hokage. Madara felt that position would inevitably go to Tobirama, which would in turn end badly for the Uchiha. With his position in Konoha rapidly diminishing and after being manipulated by the Stone Monument,[9] Madara decided the village was a failed experiment and abandoned it, intent on someday returning to face Hashirama in battle yet again.[10]
Hashirama fighting Madara and the Nine-Tails.
True to his promise, Madara eventually attacked Konohagakure on multiple occasions.[11] After countless fights and with the Nine-Tails under his control, Madara challenged Hashirama to one final contest.[12] The Nine-Tails’ power and abilities, along with Hashirama’s efforts to capture and contain it, devastated the landscape, carving out what would later be called the Valley of the End. Hashirama spent the duration of their battle trying to reason with Madara, but Madara continued fighting until he was too tired to keep even his Sharingan active. This enabled Hashirama to distract him with a wood clone while the real Hashirama stabbed him in the back. Madara collapsed and, before dying, noted how much Hashirama had changed from when they were children.[13]
Hashirama attending the first Kage Summit.
In the aftermath of the battle, Tobirama hid away Madara's body and Hashirama’s wife, Mito, sealed the Nine-Tails within herself to contain its great power to Konoha’s benefit.[14] For a time, things were peaceful: Hashirama helped train one of Tobirama’s students, Hiruzen Sarutobi; he got to spoil his first grandchild, Tsunade;[15] he locked away the Scroll of Seals, the kinjutsu it contained no longer necessary in the world he created.[16] But the peace Hashirama had worked so hard for was starting to unravel; at some point Takigakure sent Kakuzu to assassinate him.[17] Although he defeated Kakuzu, other wars began to break out.
In an unknown time, Hashirama convened a Kage Summit so that he could share the tailed beasts Konoha had acquired with them, thus balancing power amongst them. But cooperation would not be so simple as Hashirama intended it to be, first by Tobirama’s demand that the other villages pay for the tailed beasts they received, then by the First Kazekage’s counter-request of money and territory in lieu of a tailed beast. As unrest began to grow, Hashirama shared his fear that any agreement they made would only be temporary, but also that future generations could forge a lasting unity.[18] Ultimately, Hashirama’s wish for peace would not come to fruition during his lifetime and he died while Konohagakure began to flourish.[19] Before his death he passed the title of Hokage to Tobirama, and instructed him not to mistreat the Uchiha.[20]
Personality[]
Hashirama brooding about memories of Tsunade.
Hashirama offering his life without hesitation for peace.
.[24] [25] .[26] .[27] .[28] .
Hashirama’s intimidating demeanor.
Appearance[]
.png "Hashirama Senju (Full Body).png (252 KB)")
Hashirama was a tall man with tanned skin and dark eyes. He had waist-length black hair typically styled in a center-parted fringe that framed his face. He often wore the standard shinobi dress of his era, consisting of dark red armor worn over a simple black suit with sandals. This armor was constructed from numerous metal plates, formed into multiple protective guards along his body; each collar of his shoulder guards bore the Senju symbol. Prior to Konoha’s formation he wore a white-colored cloth bearing his clan’s symbol on his forehead,[34] which he later replaced with the village’s forehead protector.
Hashirama in Hokage garb.
Upon becoming Hokage, Hashirama tended to wear the traditional Kage attire consisting of the customary maroon and white hat and haori over a full-length maroon and white gown, along with a simple red headband.[35] Otherwise, he wore a light-brown, short-sleeved, kimono shirt with mesh armor underneath, held closed by a red sash, and navy blue pants. In his Hokage portrait, he is seen wearing a kerchief.[36]
As a child, Hashirama’s hair was more bowl-cut in style, hanging around his face. His usual attire consisted of a dark kimono shirt, a short light green jacket with darker green linings, a white scarf around his neck, traditional pinstriped kimono pants of his clan, and a dark green sash around his waist.[37]
Abilities[]
Hashirama clashing with his lifelong rival, Madara.
Chakra and Physical Prowess[]
Hashirama’s chakra.
Ninjutsu[]
Main articles: Hashirama’s Arsenal and Senju Scroll (RW109)
Hashirama using the legendary Senju Scroll.
As a Senju, Hashirama is trained in a variety of shinobi skills. He could summon multiple Rashōmon gates to protect himself from nearly any attack.[49] He could use barrier ninjutsu advanced enough to subdue the Ten-Tails.[50] He had unprecedented skill in medical ninjutsu, able to heal wounds without forming hand seals. His skill in fūinjutsu could store several diverse types of weapons for battle, with which he showed versatile skill in bukijutsu, able to fight on par with Madara. Likewise, Hashirama’s fūinjutsu could reinforce sealing techniques that were not his own creation with his own techniques.[51] He could also break Madara’s control over the Nine-Tails.[52]
Nature Transformation[]
Main article: Wood Release
Hashirama using Wood Release.
Hashirama was proficient in all five basic nature transformations, along with Yin and Yang Release.[53] He was most famous for his use of Wood Release, a combination of earth and water-natured chakra, creating wood and plants from the ground or his very being of various sizes and shapes that he manipulated to his purposes. This ability was apparently exclusive to him as no one else has naturally acquired this power; any replications are noticeably pale in comparison to Hashirama’s capabilities.[54]
Hashirama’s True Several Thousand Hands.
Hashirama could completely change the landscape with his constructs. He also had more ingenious usages such as making wood clones almost indistinguishable from himself. He could make flowering trees whose pollen rendered opponents unconscious, protective structures able to withstand Tailed Beast Balls,[55] giant hands to apprehend large targets,[56] and a giant humanoid creature able to clash with Madara’s Complete Body — Susanoo.[57] His precision and dexterity with his Wood Release could wield and launch his various weapons from afar, allowing him to attack from multiple angles.[58]
Hashirama’s Wood Release also granted him a method of subduing and controlling the tailed beasts. By making direct hand contact or channeling it through his Wood Release, Hashirama could use the Hokage-Style Sixty-Year-Old Technique — Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands to put the beast to sleep.[59] He acquired seven of the nine tailed beasts this way and was able to maintain control over all of them simultaneously. Likewise, he could create wood dragons to wrap around any targets and absorb their chakra. It was by this power that he earned fame as one of few people who could completely control a tailed beast.
Senjutsu[]
Main articles: Sage Mode and Senjutsu
Hashirama’s Sage Mode.
Because of his large chakra reserves, Hashirama could use senjutsu and enter Sage Mode — a feat he could perform instantaneously.[60] In this mode, he gains red (black in the anime, and dark green in the video games) markings around and under his eyes and in the middle of his forehead. Having learned it from a young Katsuyu from Shikkotsu Forest, Hashirama proved formidable in its usage, riding about on his wood techniques to be mobile in battle while maintaining the stillness of oneself needed to continue building up natural energy to keep this mode activated. Hashirama could perform powerful seals to bind targets, even those as large as the Ten-Tails.[61] The power of Sage Mode would also greatly augment his Wood Release, causing his constructs to become considerably larger and more dangerous, as seen with his largest creation, the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands: by using it to deliver an enormous barrage of punches, it could strip Susanoo from the Nine-Tails plus was chiefly responsible for the formation of the Valley of the End.[62]
Other Skills[]
Hashirama was skilled enough in taijutsu to match experts like Madara and Hiruzen,[63][64] and could cast genjutsu to lock a target in perpetual darkness for the technique’s duration.[65] Hashirama was shown to be fast enough to outrun the Nine-Tails during his battle with Madara, allowing him to lead the battle to the shoreline.[66]
Part I[]
Konoha Crush[]
Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Konoha Crush (Arc)
Orochimaru summons Hashirama and Tobirama.
Hiruzen’s clone removing Hashirama’s soul.
Part II[]
Fourth Shinobi World War[]
Fourth Shinobi World War (RW109)
The four Hokage are reincarnated.
Hashirama stops Tobirama from attacking.
The Hokage arrive on the battlefield.
Hashirama leads the Alliance.
.
Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki[]
Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki
Hashirama battling Madara.
Hashirama communicates through Ino’s technique.
.
Madara captures Hashirama.
.
.
Hashirama speaks to Madara for the last time.
.
Legacy[]
The living clone cultivated from Hashirama’s cells.
Trivia[]
- “Hashirama” (柱間) is a Japanese word referring to the space between two pillars. This might be a play on the word “pillar” (柱, hashira), as the Hokage is said to be the pillar that supports the village. His family name “Senju” literally means “thousand hands” (千手).
- His face on the Hokage Rock has a crack across the bridge of the nose.[67] This crack is not present in flashback depictions of the Rock.[68]
- Hashirama’s face appears within the fireworks in the omake of Shippūden episode 129.
- Studio Pierrot’s Settei sheets show Hashirama was 147cm when he met Madara.
- His hobbies were bonsai and wood sculpting.
- His desired opponent was Madara Uchiha.
- His favorite food was mushroom zōsui, Japanese mushroom rice porridge made usually from leftovers.
- His favorite phrases were “The vast lands fertile” (大地豊饒, Daichi hōjō) and “Heaven’s garments are without seams” (天衣無縫, Ten'i muhō). They refer to perfect beauty without any artificial elements.
- Despite having cast genjutsu in the series, Yin Release is not listed as one of Hashirama's natures in the fourth databook.[69]
Quotes[]
References[]
- ↑ Naruto chapter 621, pages 15-17
- ↑ Naruto chapter 623, page 10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624, pages 9-10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624, pages 11-14
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625, pages 2-4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625, page 12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 399, pages 7-8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 626, page 12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 681, page 9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 399, page 9
- ↑ Fourth Databook, page 61
- ↑ Naruto chapter 399, pages 9-11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 626, page 13
- ↑ Naruto chapter 500, page 6
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 1, page 22
- ↑ Third Databook, page 57
- ↑ Naruto chapter 648, pages 9-15
- ↑ First Databook, page 116
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619, pages 11, 17
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619, pages 5-6
- ↑ Naruto chapter 623, page 5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 627, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 648, pages 12-13
- ↑ Naruto chapter 620, pages 1-7
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625, page 15
- ↑ Naruto chapter 620, pages 4-5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 626, page 2
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624, page 8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625, page 1
- ↑ Naruto chapter 626, pages 13-14
- ↑ Naruto chapter 691, pages 11-13
- ↑ Naruto chapter 622, page 15
- ↑ Naruto chapter 399, page 8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 238
- ↑ Naruto chapter 621, page 17-18
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619, page 1
- ↑ Naruto chapters 620-626
- ↑ Naruto chapter 458, page 3
- ↑ Naruto chapter 671
- ↑ Naruto chapter 620, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 644, pages 9-11
- ↑ Naruto: Shippūden episode 369
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624, page 15
- ↑ Naruto chapter 620, page 11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 578, page 6
- ↑ Naruto chapter 228, page 16
- ↑ Naruto chapter 621, page 7
- ↑ Naruto chapter 631, pages 9-11
- ↑ Naruto Gaiden: Whirlwind in the Vortex, page 30
- ↑ Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations OVA
- ↑ Fourth Databook, pages 162-167
- ↑ Naruto chapter 297, page 9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 621, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 621, page 6-7
- ↑ Naruto chapter 641, page 5
- ↑ Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations OVA
- ↑ Naruto chapter 626, pages 5-6
- ↑ Fourth Databook, pages 162-167
- ↑ Naruto chapter 631, pages 9-11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 626, pages 4-9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 623, page 1-2
- ↑ Naruto Episode 71
- ↑ Naruto chapter 122, page 14
- ↑ Naruto chapter 621 pages 6-7
- ↑ Naruto chapter 1, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 239, page 1
- ↑ Fourth Databook, pages 162-167