Konohagakure

, or Konoha for short, is one of the five great ninja villages. As such, it is one of five villages with a Kage as its leader, known as the Hokage. On a mountain overlooking the villages from the north, the faces of every Hokage are carved into the rock.

Although Konoha, much like the country in which it resides, has been peaceful for the past sixteen years and has grown accustomed to that peace, it remains one of the most powerful villages in existence, with an overall ninja population much greater than that of any other village, and therefore has great military power and influence. In the Chunin exam, out of all 153 Genin participants, Konoha had 87 Leaf Genin (72 in the anime) trying to become Chunin, whereas all other ninja villages had considerably fewer participating: 30 Sunagakure Genin, 21 Amegakure Genin, 6 Kusagakure Genin (15 in the anime), 6 Takigakure Genin (12 in the anime), and 3 Otogakure Genin (Kabuto Yakushi and his teammates were counted as Leaf Genin). However, Konoha is the village that hosted the event, which possibly contributed to the unbalanced number of participants. The hiragana あん (an) is painted on the entrance gates of the village (one hiragana on each door). This means hermitage or retreat. In Kanji the character is 庵.

History
Konoha was founded by the First Hokage 60 years before the start of the series. With his brother, the Second Hokage, they trained the Third Hokage. During the founding of Konoha, the First was helped by the founder of the Uchiha clan, Madara Uchiha, whom betrayed the village and was defeated by the First. During the Third Great Shinobi War, Konoha emerged as the strongest of the Five Great Nations.

Nine-Tailed Demon Fox
sixteen years prior to the start of the series, Konoha was attacked by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. The demon fox decimated all the ninja that was sent to repel it. It was only until the Fourth Hokage arrived and used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, was it defeated and sealed away.

Oto and Suna Invasion
Twelve years after the demon fox attack, Konoha held a relatively standard Chunin Exam until Orochimaru, a former Konoha nin, attacked the Third and initiated the Otogakure and Sunagakure Invasion of Konoha. After assessing the enemy's attack and plan, Konoha was able to repel or kill all enemy shinobi and win the battle. However, the Third Hokage was killed in his fight with Orochimaru.

Hokage Residence
The Hokage Residence is a large mansion occupied by the Hokages during their reign, and is located close to both the Ninja Academy and Hokage Rock. Built during the reign of the First Hokage, the Hokage mansion is currently occupied by Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. It is filled with many forbidden scrolls, in which lies the secrets to many jutsu. Shortly before Tsunade becomes Hokage, Konohamaru, the Third Hokage's grandson, locks himself in the Hokage Mansion and sets it full of traps, although Tsunade easily managed to get past them all. At some part of the Residence on the outside is located the kanji symbol 火 (fire), a reference to the location of Konoha (Land of Fire).

Trivia

 * Masashi Kishimoto stated: "Yes, there is [a model for Konoha], it's my hometown."