The Big Picture
Tobirama Senju, a vital figure in Konoha’s history, established many key institutions that shaped the village’s success and culture.
Criticized for some decisions, Tobirama’s creations like Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation led to both noble and nefarious outcomes.
Despite his flaws, Tobirama deserves recognition as the most effective Hokage in contributing to Konoha’s long-term prosperity.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto is one of the largest, most world-built franchises in anime, with a fan-base spanning the entirety of the globe. With a live-action adaptation from Destin Daniel Cretton set to reintroduce the franchise to a wider audience, now is the perfect time to expand your knowledge of the shinobi world. In Naruto, the title of Hokage is reserved only for the most powerful, influential, and capable shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. So, when a young Naruto declares he will be Hokage, it’s one of the loftiest and highest ambitions that one can aspire to accomplish. The Hokage is the protector of the village; the sentinel who serves both as Konoha’s political leader and its strongest defender. Throughout the history of Konoha, there have been a number of different ninja that have risen to the position of Hokage, each with their own unique strengths and contributions to the village that make it difficult to judge who was the best and most effective leader during their tenure.
Recognizable names like Hashirama Senju, who helped found Konoha, and Naruto Uzumaki, who is the strongest shinobi to ever hold the title, are often considered to be the best Hokage in village history. However, the second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, deserves to be recognized as the most effective Hokage in Konoha’s history. Tobirama’s influence is palpable throughout Konoha as he played a major role in the village’s creation and established many of the institutions that solidified the bedrock of Konoha’s culture and security. Though other Hokage have flashier resumes and more extravagant feats, Tobirama’s political and systemic contributions to Konoha made him the most effective and influential Hokage Konoha has ever had.
Naruto
Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous adolescent ninja, struggles as he searches for recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the village’s leader and strongest ninja.
Release Date October 3, 2002
Cast Junko Takeuchi , Noriaki Sugiyama , Chie Nakamura , Kazuhiko Inoue , Hidekatsu Shibata , Yoichi Masukawa , Masashi Ebara , Ryôka Yuzuki
Seasons 8
Tobirama Helped Found the Hidden Leaf Village With His Brother Hashirama
When looking at the history of Konoha, a lion’s share of credit is given to Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. The two powerful ninja were the leaders of their respective families, the Senju and the Uchiha, who were the two most fearsome groups during the tumultuous Warring States Period. Due to their unique positions of leadership, their shared history of friendship, and their mutually shared yearning for peace, the two shinobi brought security and unity to groups that previously caused each other significant bloodshed. However, despite not being the eldest Senju, Tobirama was nonetheless an integral figure in the establishment of the village, without whom, Konoha would never have been successfully founded. Throughout their dangerous childhood, Tobirama was one of Hashirama’s most important allies, helping defeat many of their most dangerous opponents, including Madara’s younger brother, Izuna.
While Hashirama was the idealist who was capable of inspiring people to band together in unity, Tobirama was the necessary realist who ensured that the transition could be made peacefully and effectively. One of the early major plays for peace that Hashirama performed was giving the tailed beasts to other ninja villages, as symbols of goodwill. However, it was Tobirama who urged his brother to make the other villages pay for the tailed beasts, so that the gesture of peace could be solidified and fair for both sides. Without Tobirama’s support and dissenting opinions, Hashirama would likely have been over-idealistic and could have had his kindness taken advantage of. It was because of Tobirama’s more cynical, albeit realistic, perspective on things that Konoha’s founding was as successful as it was.
The World of ‘Naruto’ As We Know It Would Look Very Different Without Tobirama
After Tobirama took on the position of Hokage after his older brother’s death, he solidified the political and cultural strength of the Hidden Leaf in ways that ensured the village would prosper in future generations. Konoha was the first major shinobi village ever founded, setting the precedent for other hidden villages around the world which looked to them as a model for success. The expectations around Hashirama, as he was the first to be Hokage, were incredibly high due to how new and unconventional the ninja village system was at the time. However, Tobirama’s tenure as Hokage proved to the world that the Hidden Village system wasn’t just a one-off experiment, but was a successful and constructive way to ensure peace among ninja.
It was under Tobirama’s leadership that the culture in the ninja world permanently shifted. Prior to the hidden villages, ninja only looked after their own families. However, Tobirama instilled a unified culture in Konoha, establishing that the entire village was family, not just several isolated clans. Instead, the Senju, Uchiha, and all the other families were Konoha citizens first and foremost, creating a culture of unity that, while not perfect, made the Hidden Leaf a hospitable and well-protected home.
Tobirama was also responsible for establishing many of the institutions that make Hidden Villages function productively. He was the one who created the ninja academy, the Chūnin Exams, and the ANBU black ops — all of which are still present and integral to Konoha’s existence. The ninja academy provided an environment to foster young and aspiring shinobi, giving them a place to learn the necessary skills for survival without throwing them into the battlefield before they are ready. At the academy, young ninja are able to learn their strengths and weaknesses before being matched with a mentor best suited for their needs. The Chūnin Exams, which provided the setting for the best arc in Naruto, became the standard for testing rookie shinobi to see if they were ready to level up in responsibility. As an added bonus, they became an event that facilitated peaceful interactions between different villages as they would cooperate with one another in times of peace. The ANBU were a clandestine organization capable of handling some of the village’s most dangerous tasks. Collectively, these all became respected and necessary institutions for making a ninja village run successfully.
Related ‘Naruto’s Best Couple Deserved More Screentime Believe it or not, the best couple in the series doesn’t involve Naruto, Sakura, or even Sasuke.
Tobirama Is the Most Controversial Hokage in ‘Naruto’
While Tobirama is recognized for his many positive contributions to Konoha, he is also subjected to criticism regarding the negative consequences of some of his actions. The first major criticism of Tobirama is connected to his choice to delegate the Uchiha family to become the Konoha Military Police. Despite the power that comes with being the security force of the village, the Uchiha ended up feeling separated from the rest of Konoha. Their position and status inadvertently ostracized the family from the other ninja clans in Konoha. After years of pent-up tensions and frustration, many of the Uchiha came together to plan a coup, which was ultimately prevented by Itachi Uchiha, who made an immense sacrifice to keep his village and brother safe. Though the public perception of Tobirama’s decision was to give the Uchiha a productive role in the village, others saw it as a remnant of the Senju’s mistrust of the clan. While this may have been a misstep in his political actions, Tobirama’s ultimate goal was still to preserve the safety of the village, and he couldn’t have been able to predict how the Uchiha would react decades after his own death.
Another criticism of Tobirama is the result of the misuse of powerful jutsu that he created. Tobirama was one of the most prolific inventors of ninja techniques in the entire series, creating many of the most iconic and memorable jutsu. However, his creation of Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation proved to be the most controversial. This technique allowed the user to bind a deceased person’s soul to a living vessel, essentially resurrecting a dead ninja to do the summoner’s bidding. Despite being forbidden and hidden away, knowledge of this technique made its way to Orochimaru and Kabuto, two rogue ninja that would use it for nefarious purposes.
Orochimaru used the technique to bring back Hashirama and Tobirama in his duel with the Third Hokage, ultimately resulting in the Third’s death. Years later, in Naruto: Shippuden, Kabuto used the technique to bring back hoards of deceased shinobi to fight in the Fourth Great Shinobi War, making up a significant portion of the enemy forces. However, the use of these techniques brings up the interesting question of whether Tobirama should be blamed for how his jutsu were used. This criticism is unfair because for every negative use of his creations, there were also positive uses of his techniques. The Fourth Hokage used Tobirama’s Flying Raijin technique with such efficiency that he almost single-handedly ended the Third Great Shinobi War. Naruto became the most prominent user of the Shadow Clone technique, relying on it for years as he helped fight for peace. If Tobirama is blamed for the evil uses of his jutsu, he should also be commended for the techniques he invented that were used for noble purposes.
Tobirama receives a disproportionate share of criticism for his tenure as Hokage, overlooking the overwhelming positive results of his leadership of Konoha. The Second Hokage was vital to ensuring that Konoha was the prime example of a Hidden Village, creating systems and a culture that helped the village prosper.
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