Hokage

The is the Kage of Konohagakure, a title bestowed on the village's leader. The Hokage is generally regarded as the strongest shinobi in the village. There have been eight Hokage in the village's history.

Overview
The Hokage position was created shortly after the creation of Konoha by Hashirama Senju, one of the village's founders. He intended the title to be given to his co-founder, Madara Uchiha, but the village's population instead selected Hashirama as the First Hokage. Madara feared that Hashirama's selection was the first step in making the Hokage office an extension of the Senju clan's authority, a fear Hashirama denied. Despite this, all of the village's Hokage have traced back to Hashirama in some way: the Second was his brother; the Third was a student of both his brother and himself; the Fourth was a student of one of the Third's students; the Fifth is his granddaughter and another student of the Third; the Sixth was a student of the Fourth; the Seventh is a student of the Sixth and the son of the Fourth.

The Hokage typically selects their successor. If they die or are otherwise incapacitated, the next Hokage is instead chosen by the daimyō of the Land of Fire with the advice of his committee, the Konoha Council, the Jōnin Commander and a representative of the Anbu. This choice must then be approved by Konoha's jōnin. If one of the Hokage's predecessors is still alive, they may return to office rather than select a new Hokage, as when the Third came out of retirement following the Fourth's death. The choice appears to be difficult to decline, if not impossible - Jiraiya was forced to find Tsunade, a suitable substitute, to escape the pre-arranged promotion that would have made him Fifth Hokage. The Hokage's inauguration is a major event in Konoha, with most of the village attending. The new Hokage is granted a ceremonial haori on the occasion; the same woman has embroidered the haori for all seven Hokage. Once they assume the duties of Hokage, their face is carved into the Hokage Rock and they usually move in to the Hokage Residence. The Hokage's office is located in the administrative section of the Academy.

Hokage are responsible for most of the village's day-to-day affairs, such as assigning the village's ninja to missions or securing funding for the village's projects and personnel. The Hokage spends most of their time in the village, only travelling abroad for events of vital importance to Konoha. Each Hokage typically lives according to the Will of Fire, a philosophy that holds that Konoha is a family and that the Hokage is chiefly responsible for protecting that family. The workload of Hokage can be quite formidable, and as such retired Hokage may continue to oversee certain sections of the village or, if not that, will advise the current Hokage on request. Over a decade after the Fourth Shinobi World War, the workload of the Hokage had expanded tremendously due to the expansive growth that Konohagakure enjoyed after the War, as well as the Hokage's duties becoming nearly that of a pseudo-head of state in the Land of Fire. As such, until his schedule lessened, the Seventh Hokage would be swamped with paperwork and other appearances all over the village turned city to the point where even his massive chakra reserves would be depleted. And he would be unable to spend time with his family, temporarily forming a rift between himself and his eldest son.

Trivia

 * During his life, the Third Hokage was said to be the strongest Hokage in the village's history as well as strongest Kage of his time.  Years later, the Seventh Hokage was also recognised in the same way.
 * Orochimaru was a prime candidate to be the Fourth Hokage, but was passed over because he didn't embody the Will of Fire.
 * Fugaku Uchiha's talents were considered comparable to Minato Namikaze and the Sannin, even viewed as a prime candidate to become Fourth Hokage. Despite this, his name was not even suggested. Many in the Uchiha Clan suspected this was due to the village officials not wanting the Uchiha Clan on centre stage.
 * Jiraiya was considered for the Hokage position multiple times: first prior to the Third's retirement, again after the Fourth's death, and once again after the Third's death. He refused each time because he believed he couldn't give the office the attention it deserved.
 * The first six Hokage had their official photographs taken while wearing a ceremonial necklace of sorts.
 * According to Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara has the capability to become Hokage if he weren't so lazy.
 * At one point, Sasuke claimed Itachi to be the "true" Hokage on account of the latter's hefty sacrifices for the sake of the village. A reincarnated Hiruzen would later share this sentiment.
 * According to Boruto, Naruto refers to Sasuke as the "Shadow Hokage", due to Naruto protecting the village from the inside whereas Sasuke supports Naruto and protects the village from the outside. However, Sasuke never recognises himself as a Hokage due to his past criminal acts and his personal life-long journey of atonement.
 * In the Genjutsu World seen in Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, Kizashi Haruno was the Fourth Hokage. Like the real Fourth Hokage, he gave his life to save the village.
 * Naruto Uzumaki was made Hokage for a week in the storyline of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3.
 * Might Guy was made Hokage ("Guykage" as it was named) in the Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth Full Power Ninja Chronicles spin-off.
 * In Jiraiya's novel The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, the village leader of Shuku is called the Kokage as an obvious homage to the Hokage position.
 * Several victims of the Infinite Tsukuyomi dream of different Hokage:
 * Kiba Inuzuka dreams that he is Hokage, a position he uses to declare a national holiday for dogs.
 * Tsunade dreams that Dan Katō is Hokage.
 * In the anime, Karin dreams that Sasuke Uchiha is the Sixth Hokage.
 * It's tradition that a Konoha shinobi's first mission is directly received from the Hokage.