Leaf Village... sounds like a weak name?

[pathyfinder]

I was looking at someone's signature that stated "feel the power" with the leaf symbol. Ok, then I'm looking outside at the leaves that are turning brown and dying and falling to the ground, and well... I don't think compared to other villages that "LEAF" is a powerful name.

Wind - is mighty. Sand - never disappears completely.
Mist - is great to hide in and mysterious. Water is deadly.
Lightening is powerful and cloud is great to hide in also.
Earth/Stone - Earth appears to be strong name also. Takes a lot to break a rock.
Sound- Not much can escape sound.
but
FIRE/Leaf: I'm confused. Fire and leafs really don't go together seeing as people burn leaves to get rid of them.

I just don't see the connection. Is there some vast history I'm missing to explain this?

[Fei-san]

Originally Posted by pathyfinder

I was looking at someone's signature that stated "feel the power" with the leaf symbol. Ok, then I'm looking outside at the leaves that are turning brown and dying and falling to the ground, and well... I don't think compared to other villages that "LEAF" is a powerful name.

Wind - is mighty. Sand - never disappears completely.
Mist - is great to hide in and mysterious. Water is deadly.
Lightening is powerful and cloud is great to hide in also.
Earth/Stone - Earth appears to be strong name also. Takes a lot to break a rock.
Sound- Not much can escape sound.
but
FIRE/Leaf: I'm confused. Fire and leafs really don't go together seeing as people burn leaves to get rid of them.

I just don't see the connection. Is there some vast history I'm missing to explain this?

fire burns all leaf, yet all the leaves get's turned into something new, energy for other leaves, that's what it means a bit, a fire might destroy a forest, yet all leaves come back, that's power if u ask me, reincarnation

[pathyfinder]

I was thinking that also, that fertilizer does promote growth for the future generation, but thought there was something else....something perhaps that "get's lost in the translation" or "cultural" differences. THX!

[Hunter]

The word konoha indicates also a kind of blade if I remember well.

[Lord Raiden]

Surprisingly enough, there's a LOT that gets lost in translation between Japanese and English. That's one reason I want to set down this fall (between all my Cisco, Linux, and networking geek books) and winter and learn Japanese. I want to learn the language because I like it, and because I want to learn some of these cultural inuendos. Heck, at some point I may even go as far as to fly over to Japan for 2 weeks to experience things first hand there just for the experience factor.

[Hunter]

Btw Konoha can also indicates a kind of move in Kempo and Konoha-zuku is a kind of owl so a night raptor (ie like a ninja).

Konoha can have a lot of untranslatable significance because it's part of the japanese culture and folklore.

[Lord Raiden]

Wow, so then the 3rd's grandson who's named after the village actually has a very bada** name then? Cool. Fits the little brat perfectly.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by Lord Raiden

Wow, so then the 3rd's grandson who's named after the village actually has a very bada** name then? Cool. Fits the little brat perfectly.

Well without even speaking about folklore or culture,

Ko no ha mean leaf or foliage

Ko mean child and Ha can mean leaf, blade, edge and some other thing.

So you can also read Konoha by Leaf's children or Blade's children for example.


edit : typos

[hobobaggins]

children man. children. you spell children c h i l d r e n.

... village of the leaf... it could be worse. alot worse. hidden village of the mountain bunnies.

konohamaru

is children's leaf circle... if i am not much mistaken.

or circle leaf

[pathyfinder]

"deadly mountain bunnies! LOL Bunny-kick- no jutsu! Watch out they replicate and chew off your feet and collect them after battles! Of course that really would be something if they had a FOX sealed in them! Pretty intimadating.

... it's all starting to make sence now. I just thought perhaps they were getting ripped as everyone appeared to have a "stronger" name. As far story lines go, the author is pretty consistant, and I well, it would seem weird if everyone else around had all these imposing names, and like "hobobaggins" said, it could be worse. To me it looked like they may as well have a name as "hidden mountain bunnies". After all Leaf is known as the strongest producers of Ninjas.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by hobobaggins

konohamaru

is children's leaf circle... if i am not much mistaken.

or circle leaf

No, in this case maru is a boy's name suffix, if Konohamaru was a girl, her name could be Konohako for example.

It's the same for Orochimaru, Orochi come from the name of Yamata no Orochi, the great dragon having eight heads and eight tails (in Asia the serpents and the dragons are very similar), and maru is the suffix.

[Vicious]

Konoha may sound weak by the name, but it's pretty much the strongest Hidden Village, that is!

[Whojive]

make like a tree and Leave

[TheGreatYakoshi]

Originally Posted by Whojive

make like a tree and Leave

Bad joke no jutsu?

[eLstar]

Maybe it's meant to sound weak. Would you rather go into battle with someone who underestimates you or one who takes every single precaution just so you won't beat them.

[hobobaggins]

Originally Posted by Hunter

No, in this case maru is a boy's name suffix, if Konohamaru was a girl, her name could be Konohako for example.

It's the same for Orochimaru, Orochi come from the name of Yamata no Orochi, the great dragon having eight heads and eight tails (in Asia the serpents and the dragons are very similar), and maru is the suffix.

... so what are all the suffixes of names
Boy:
maru

Girl:
ko

... and is that it? but if they are the only two, of even if they are one of many, why have it at the end of a name? is it like saying... this is a bisexual name.. but i am a guy...

[MajinBuu]

Ok,so that's what I think,Wind,Water,Mist,Sand,Lightning,Fire,Sound all these are elements,something meant to be the source of power for life and Leaf is the one representing life.And I don't think that is something more powerful than life(even if it may sound strange...)

[p3psi]

I think no hidden viallage is stronger than hidden smurf.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by hobobaggins

... so what are all the suffixes of names
Boy:
maru

Girl:
ko

... and is that it? but if they are the only two, of even if they are one of many, why have it at the end of a name? is it like saying... this is a bisexual name.. but i am a guy...

Well it's much much more complicated than that in fact ^^
In japanese you can make a name with absolutely all the word existing even a verb.
For example some years ago I met a guy named Tsutomeru, his name means : to work, it's the exact word but that can be a name, and a name for a girl or a boy without distinction like Hikari (light), and almost any word.
But there is also some suffix making possible to differentiate boy and girl's name even if it isn't obligatory like maru, moto, ko, emon, etc.
The fact is, in japanese gramar there isn't any difference between singular and plural, nor between masculine and female but there are words only used by woman and words only used by men, for example Boku mean [i]I, me[/b] for the men and the equivalent for the woman is Atashi (or Watashi).

Well I know that I'm not very clear but Japanese is a very complicated language even for the japonese themself (and neither Japanese nor English are my own languages ) so you should ask more explication to a real proffessor or something ^^

[Jackl]

I don't "leaf" doesn't sound like a weak name. It made even more sense when the 3rd said this: **Warning! Possible Spoilers ahead! You have been warned!**

Click here for Spoiler Picture


I cut it down just in case someone scrolls down and doesn't want to see EVERYTHING that happens

Anyway, it just seems like that phrase makes alot of sense, as the Leaf village seems to be a tight knit community. Kinda like the old saying about a leaf by itself is nothing, but altogether with a tree it can survive the ages.(Or something like that, I don't remember it completely. )

Spoiler:

Its also called the leaf because of the 1st Hokage's "special" technique.

But then you've got to wonder where the hell Leaf and Fire got into the same ideal