Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-12509038-20150207060319/@comment-945885-20150208061243

Forum just ate my post...

I think Kishimoto was going for two things: first, he wanted her to seem "otherworldly." So he made her aloof, mysterious, and detached.

Second, she's a princess from a thousand years ago, so she exhibits the Heian period aesthetic of miyabi (courtly refinement), which means she presents herself as being meek, subserviant, and sensitive. Which, while obviously a dated and sexist feminine ideal, is nevertheless period-appropriate. She wears the many-layed kimono, has long flowing hair, and the painted maro, so the Heian aesthetics are obviously a conscious element of her design. Women of that time were expected to keep themselves and their thoughts and knowledge hidden.

And, in fact, that she went to war with her sons is sort of a rebellion against that ideal, as Heian women were expected to be subserviant not just to their father and husband, but to their adult sons.

Looking beyond that, her following Zetsu's guidance was also just practical. She isn't a shinobi and doesn't really know how ninjas fights. Zetsu has spent a millenia observing the rise of the ninja, and without his advice she wouldn't have stood a chance.