1 / 2
KA
火
fire
✎ Editor's glossfire
Naruto · Shinobi · Kanji file 055
Hokage 火影
Pronounced ho·ka·ge
In Naruto, the Hokage is the great founder of the Hidden Leaf Village — and the title passes down to the village's leaders ever after. The word 火影 (Hokage) is thought to be the author's own coinage; here is the depth it carries to a Japanese reader. In 1960s Japan, ninja stories were booming, and across those works 影 — "shadow" — ran through ninja names and ninja vocabulary: Tsukikage, Kagemaru, Akakage with his partners Aokage and Shirokage. To a Japanese reader, "◯-kage" simply smells of ninja. Meanwhile, the words tsukikage and hokage themselves appear in the Heian classics — meaning not ninja but moonlight and firelight: an aesthetic vocabulary from Japan's classical age. Put those two histories together, and the word Hokage in Naruto begins to breathe with a special meaning of its own.
Genius naming
📖 Databook: Rin no Sho, p. 116 · Tō no Sho, p. 142 · Sha no Sho, p. 160 · Jin no Sho, p. 162
Speed
Breaking down the kanji
Here's what each character means — and how to write it. In Japan, following the correct stroke order is considered the key to writing kanji beautifully. Readings, stroke counts and core meanings below come directly from the KANJIDIC2 dictionary database. The red ✎ line is the editor's gloss — the meaning that is actually alive in this name, chosen by our editors from a Japanese kanji dictionary.
2 / 2
EI
影
shadow · silhouette · phantom
✎ Editor's glossa shadow
What's next
Which term should we write next?
We write in order of demand. Every name and jutsu in the official databooks is listed in our Master Index — find the one you want, and tell us via the Contact page.
Original artwork — free to save
The kanji, on one sheet
A reference card we drew ourselves — the characters in Japanese brush style.
Quick answers
FAQ
What does Hokage mean in Japanese?
Literally “fire shadow” — 火 fire + 影 shadow. Where that pairing comes from, and why it sounds so good in Japanese, is the story this page tells.
How do you pronounce Hokage?
Say it ho·ka·ge (火影). Japanese has no strong word stress: give each syllable about the same length and weight, and keep the vowels short and clear — a as in “father,” i as in “machine,” u as in “food,” e as in “met,” o as in “go.”
How do you write Hokage in Japanese?
火影 — two kanji, read ho·ka·ge.
How many strokes is 火影?
19 in total: 火 is 4, 影 is 15. The animation above draws every stroke in dictionary order.
What characters make up Hokage?
Hokage is written 火影: 火 (fire); 影 (shadow · silhouette · phantom). Readings and meanings come from the KANJIDIC2 dictionary database.
Can I use the copied kanji anywhere?
Yes — it's standard Unicode text and works on any modern OS. One caution before you print or ink it: make sure the font is a Japanese one. Some fonts render the same characters in Chinese style, and the difference shows.