Hashirama Senju was the first Hokage, which in Japanese means "The first or the founder of the Fire Shadow ". He is from the Senju clan of Konoha. They founded with the Uchiha clan 🌘 the village of the hidden leaf.
Hashirama Personality
Hashirama has proven to be a very calm and collected person, as well as kind and loving, with a deep sense of loyalty, he also possesses great charisma and negotiation skills. He considered the people of Konoha his own family, 👨👩👧 and his legacy was deeply rooted in Konoha Village. He also proved to be a very wise and insightful man , transmitting great teachings to Sarutobi. He was the first to believe that all Konoha ninja should show true loyalty to each other, and that a Kage had to be ready to give his life so that his village is an example for all others. This belief is known as the "Will of Fire." 🔥
Appearance
Senju possessed dark brown skin, brown eyes, and long black hair. In most cases, he dressed like his brother-in-arms, 🪓 Uchiha Madara , with dark red-colored metal-plated armor similar to those worn in the samurai era, ninja sandals, and a sort of headband: either a protective forehead band, or simply a red ribbon. On either side of the collar of the armor, it bore the symbol of the Senju clan. When he was in the village, he wore either the official Hokage outfit with a tiara or a brown kimono 👘 shirt with mesh armor that he held closed with a red belt and navy blue pants.
SKILLS
Hashirama Senju was considered by Madara Uchiha and many Jonin of Konoha to be the most powerful ninja of his time. 💪 He was very respected during his lifetime by many ninjas, which is why Madara said that Hashirama was the person he respected the most , as well as the person he hated the most. He was also capable of performing a large number of ninjutsu techniques.
In the manga, he uses a genjutsu against Hiruzen that covers a large area in darkness. In the anime, it's his brother Tobirama Senju who uses this genjutsu instead. During his battle ⚔️ against Madara, Hashirama is seen using a variety of weapons which he summoned from a large scroll. His skills and abilities were so great that he was able not only fight on equal terms with Madara despite the power of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the help of Kyubi, 🦊 but also survive the battle and achieve the final victory. The injuries he caused Madara were so severe that even decades later, they continue to greatly affect him.
History of Hashirama
Hashirama was born during an unstable period where different ninja clans sold their services to the highest bidding clans. Although he is still a child, Hashirama already only wanted peace ! 🕊️ Above all, he wanted to stop the massacre of children on the battlefields.
Hashirama then meets Madara Uchiha for the first time by a river. They shared a game of rebounds together. During this part, neither Hashirama nor Madara revealed their last names, as it was considered something reckless at that time. Unbeknownst to them, their clans had been in a bloody feud for ages, constantly engaged by opposing factions to thwart their natural enemy.
Since their childhood, Madara and Hashirama indirectly believed that the best way to survive in this world of ninjas was to befriend your enemies . Soon after Hashirama attended the funeral of his younger brother, Kawarama, who had been murdered by members of the Uchiha clan. Saddened 😭 by Kawarama's death, ⚰️ Hashirama had a brief altercation with his father over what he considered an unnecessary death, and his incomprehension of sending his little brothers into battle.
Soon after, Itama, Hashirama, and Tobirama's other younger brother, fell into war again. The event led Hashirama to return to the banks of the river, where he met Madara once again , and discussed Itama's death with him. Finding comfort in each other's company, the two shinobi met regularly by the river, 🏞️ where they trained, shared techniques, and discussed their future prospects.
It was during one of these meetings that Hashirama revealed his dream of creating a new village where people could live in peace and, above all, where children could grow up and study together. It would be a place where shinobi would be given missions based on their skill level and not out of a need to fill a battlefield. Madara agreed and the two children decided to build their dream village below the very cliff where they were talking.
However, Hashirama's friendship with the young Uchiha did not last , as Butsuma Senju soon discovered that his son had met Madara. Revealing to Hashirama that Madara was in fact an Uchiha who had killed several of the Senju Clan's strongest shinobi, 💪 he ordered his son to use his encounters with Madara to spy on him and if possible, kill him. But Hashirama couldn't stand the idea of betraying his friend; when the two boys met again, they warned each other that a trap had been set, but as they fled, they looked back in shock to find their fathers and younger brothers standing together. standing face to face, ready to fight. 🥊
After Hashirama and Madara intervened to protect their respective younger brothers, Hashirama was devastated to see Madara end their friendship and in turn declare war on him. ⚔️ Over the years, Hashirama was forced to fight his former friend, numerous times, before they eventually became the leaders of their respective clans. Hashirama repeatedly tried to convince Madara to stop fighting, but Madara refused. After Madara obtained his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, 👁️Hashirama defeated Madara and approached him once again in order to unite their two clans; however, Madara once again refused, and stated that he would not trust the Senju unless Hashirama took his own life or killed his younger brother. Choosing suicide, Hashirama asked his brother to accept the Uchiha as allies and end their feud, but his suicide was stopped by Madara, who then agreed to the truce.
The Uchiha and Senju then prepare to finally found the hidden village of Konoha. Hashirama expresses his desire to make Madara the first Hokage, and even carve his portrait on the cliff overlooking the village. Tobirama, however, convinces him that the villagers will never follow Madara, and that they must be able to choose who will lead them. Ultimately the villagers chose Hashirama over Madara for the title of First Hokage . Afterwards, Hashirama and Madara met at Naka Shrine, where Madara expressed his fear that Tobirama would become the Second Hokage, and told him of his plan to make his dream come true. ⚠️ It is important to note that at this time, Hashirama captured several Bijû.
Some time after becoming Hokage, Hashirama called the very first meeting of the five Kages, accompanied by his brother, the future successor, Tobirama. Desiring to unite the five great shinobi countries, Hashirama bowed his head, recognizing the other kages as his equals . As the meeting began, Tobirama offered the different countries to pay in order to receive a tailed beast. Hashirama questioned his brother asking if giving them away for free 🆓 wasn't a good thing. Silent, Tobirama did not listen as the procedure continued. As infighting broke out among the different Kage. Hashirama appealed to them to preserve the future of their children. He also expressed his fear that the peace agreement between the five would not last long, and shared with them his dream of a future where everyone would be united under a single cause. Eventually, Hashirama shared the Bijû 🐲 with the other villages in order to maintain peace and equalize power between the different nations, thus ending the conflict between them.
Madara left the village and soon after , Konohagakure began to prosper as Hashirama and Madara had dreamed of as children, leading other nations to adopt the same system as Konoha Village. Later, Madara returned, having gained control of the Nine-Tailed Fox, determined to challenge Hashirama once again. During the battle, Hashirama attempted to reason with Madara into stopping the fight, but realizing that Madara would not back down, Hashirama entered Sage Mode to end the battle. With his increased power, Hashirama was able to destroy Madara's Susanoo and subdue Kurama with the help of his wife, Mito. The battle continued late into the night, leaving both Shinobi bruised and exhausted.
During a final confrontation, Hashirama was the last one standing . Looking at Madara, Hashirama once again tried to reason with Madara, noting how much their former shared dream had progressed. When Madara scoffed at these remarks, Hashirama resolved to finish Madara off, so he positioned himself behind him and stabbed him through the chest. At that moment, Madara swore that one day, the village would be shrouded in darkness before collapsing.
The day after this intense fight, Madara faked his death ⚰️ and hid . On the Konoha village side, Hashirama's wife, Mito Uzumaki, became the first Kyubi jinchūriki, sealing Kurama within her. The devastation of the land that followed this battle was so great that it is now known as the Valley of the End.
During his tenure as Hokage, Hashirama received a scroll filled with various kinjutsu, 📜 which he sealed in order to keep the techniques within it secret. He also defeated Kakuzu, who was sent by Takigakure to assassinate him. Thinking about the future of Konoha, he also trained the young Hiruzen Sarutobi, one of his brother's team members. He lived long enough to meet his first grandchild, Tsunade, and found that he had spoiled her immensely, even going so far as to teach her how to gamble at the casino. Hashirama died sometime after the founding of Konoha , in one of the many wars that raged during this revolutionary era.
Mokuton
He was best known for his Mokuton technique, 🌳 a Genkai Kekkei which mixes earth, water and chakra to create the wood element. By converting chakra into a life source, he was able to create trees, grow them to large scales, manipulate them into various forms, and use them in combat at will. According to legend, the capacity of Mokuton would have been used by Hashirama Senju to create the landscape and foundations of the hidden village of Konoha.
Yamato is said to be the only ninja whose compatibility with Hashirama's genes has been demonstrated. Yamato has demonstrated great skill in water and earth elemental ninjutsu during his life! It is therefore assumed that Hashirama could also control these elements (water and earth) .
Orochimaru's greatest praise of Hashirama was therefore for his unique ability to control the tailed beasts, Bijus. 👺 Of all his incredible talents, it is this particular skill that has made Hashirama a paragon in the ninja world, to the point where he is considered one of the few people capable of completely controlling a tailed beast . This ability was greatly facilitated by his crystal necklace (Naruto's Blue Necklace) which, according to Yamato, was a prerequisite for being able to contain the powerful chakra of the Nine-Tailed Beast, Kyubi. 🦊
If you want to know more about the Senju Clan, we invite you to read the following article: Senju Clan
