Why Is Indonesia Called “Konoha”? Here’s The Reason

Konoha is a fictional village in the popular anime Naruto and there are some similarities with Indonesia.

For illustration purposes

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If you’re constantly on social media enough, you might have heard of Indonesia being referred to as Konoha here and there, especially when Indonesians behave strangely.

But, what is the relevance between Indonesia and a fictional village in the popular anime Naruto? As it turned out, there are some similarities between the two places and it’s why the name has stuck.

Here are the similarities between Indonesia and Konoha:

1. Having seven leaders

In the anime Naruto, Konoha had seven village leaders known as the hokage. Indonesia also has seven presidents since declaring independence in August 1945.

The first Indonesian president, Soekarno, is said to be similar to Konoha’s first Hokage, Hashirama. Both Soekarno and Hashirama are said to be founders of the country/village and have firm characters.

The second president, Soeharto, has similar characteristics as the second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, because they helped shaped the nation and community.

Indonesian weekly magazine Tempo shared that Indonesia and Konoha were led by some smart individuals, comparing BJ Habibie with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Tempo added that KH Abdurrahman Wahid or Gus Dur is similar to Minato Namikaze because he resigned from his position to maintain peace in their respective countries.

The seven Hokages of Konoha. Image: Game Rant

There’s also a similarity between the fifth president and the fifth Hokage. The fifth president, Megawati Soekarnoputri is the daughter of the first Indonesian president, Soekarno.

Meanwhile, the fifth Hokage, Tsunade, is the granddaughter of the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Both Megawati and Tsunade were also first presidents in their own regions.

Additionally, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is said to be similar to Kakashi Hatake, the sixth leader of Konoha, due to their military backgrounds.

What about President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)? He’s compared to Naruto Uzumaki because they share the same goal of creating peace in other countries.

2. Ability to make peace with rivals

In Konoha, Naruto entrusted his friend and rival, Sasuke, as the head of security. In Indonesia, Jokowi appointed Prabowo Subianto, his rival during the election, as the Minister of Defense.

3. Having large ethnic tribes and influential groups

In Naruto, there are various ninja clans such as the Hyuga, Senju, Uchiha, Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara, to name a few.

The Uchiha clan has great influence in Konoha and was hated by the second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

Indonesia also has various regional tribes such as the Batak, Sundanese, Javanese, Betawi, Minang, and Bugis.

Indonesia’s PKI group holds great influence in the country and was a threat at some point, which was why the group was not liked by Soeharto, the second president.

The explanation regarding the similarities between Indonesia and Konoha amused Jokowi in 2017. He thanked a student named Yadian for explaining the term to him during a #JokowiMenjawab session.

Am I able to make our country like Konoha under the leadership of Uzumaki Naruto, who is calm, peaceful, pious, and disciplined? I answer God willing. With God’s permission and the hard work of all of us, we can definitely do it.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo

More about Konoha

Konoha is the short name for the village Konohagakure, which translates to Village Hidden in the Leaves or Hidden Leave Village. Residents refer to it as the Leaf and it’s the home village of the titular character, Naruto.