Hokage

The are the leaders of Konohagakure. They are generally acknowledged as the strongest in the village, although ideology and renown plays a large part in their nomination for the position. Six shinobi and one kunoichi have gained this title so far, with another shinobi gaining the title of Hokage Candidate.

Overview
The title and role was created by Hashirama Senju shortly after the establishment of Konoha. Generally, the new Hokage is selected by the current Hokage upon their retirement, but if the old Hokage dies or is incapacitated before being able to do so, the Fire Daimyō appoints a Hokage Candidate upon the recommendation of the Konoha council and the Fire Daimyō council. Afterwards, the candidate will need to be approved by the jōnin of the village to become officially Hokage.

After being approved, they are obliged but not mandated to move into the Hokage Residence to live in and have their faces carved out in the Hokage Monument. If the former Hokage is still alive, they will generally keep helping out, making the transition easier and more stable. The Hokage carry their title for life, even after retiring from active duty. Because of this, they maintain some authority over the village, such as Hiruzen's order of barring young shinobi from participating in the Nine-Tails' Attack on Konoha. The Hokage's office is located in the administrative section of the Academy.

Alternate Fourth Hokage


In the Genjutsu World in Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, Kizashi Haruno was the Fourth Hokage. However, like Minato in the real world, he died protecting the village.

Trivia

 * Hashirama Senju was the one to coin the term "Hokage", and actually intended the position to be held by Madara Uchiha. The decision, however, was left up to public consensus, and Hashirama was chosen for the position.
 * Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was said to be the strongest Hokage in the village's history (up to Tsunade's reign at least), as well as strongest of the five Kage of his era.
 * At least six of the Hokage had their official office photographs taken while wearing a ceremonial necklace of sorts.
 * According to Asuma Sarutobi, his student Shikamaru Nara has the ability to become Hokage, but won't due to him being too lazy to want to.
 * Orochimaru was once a prime candidate to be the Fourth Hokage, but due to his lust for power and lack of love for the village, the Third passed him over.
 * After Orochimaru was passed over for this position, Hiruzen intended to choose Jiraiya to be the Fourth Hokage, but Jiraiya refused due to his journeys as an author and his quest to chase down the renegade Orochimaru. After Hiruzen and Minato died, Jiraiya was once again offered the position as the Fifth, but he once again rejected it. When Tsunade went into a coma, the Fire Daimyō commented how he would have liked Jiraiya to be the Sixth, but by that time Jiraiya had already died.
 * Naruto Uzumaki was made Hokage for a week in the storyline of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3. Might Guy was also made Hokage (Guykage as it was named) in the Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth Full Power Ninja Chronicles spin-off.
 * Each Hokage has been a combatant in one of the Shinobi World Wars, with all seven having participated in the Fourth Shinobi World War.
 * As opposed to the Kazekage and Tsuchikage positions, which appear to be inherited within a specific family line or clan, the Hokage title appears to be inherited by a mentor-pupil relationship, as most Hokage can be traced back into the same line of mentors/sensei and students:
 * The Third was the student of the Second.
 * The Fourth was the student of Jiraiya (who repeatedly turned down the position himself), who was a student of the Third.
 * The Fifth was the student of the Third.
 * The Sixth was the student of the Fourth.
 * The Seventh was the student of the Sixth and Jiraiya.