Kakashi Hatake Overview

Though his name is written in kana in the manga, the family name "Hatake" can be written in kanji either as 'farmland' or 'leaf warrior'. The literal translation of "Hatake" is "cultivated field"; however, "Kakashi" means 'scarecrow'. Oddly enough, Naruto uses a scarecrow look-alike of Kakashi to practice on the day before Team 7's first test. Also, when Sakura spies on Kakashi so he would take off his mask, he replaces himself with a scarecrow to get rid of her.

Kakashi is a popular character, consistently ranking in the Top 5 in Shonen Jump magazine's official polls. He has taken 1st place in these polls twice.

Background Information

Kakashi is a Konoha Jonin and the current leader of Team 7, which originally consisted of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. He is known as Copy Ninja Kakashi (コピー忍者のカカシ, Kopī Ninja no Kakashi?) or Sharingan Kakashi (写輪眼のカカシ, Sharingan no Kakashi?), referring to the Sharingan in his left eye and his use of it in battle, which has allowed him to copy more than one thousand jutsu. Kakashi's Sharingan eye is not his own; it originally belonged to his former teammate and friend, Obito Uchiha.

Though he reportedly has many hobbies, the one pastime seen most in the series is his reading of "Icha Icha Paradise" (イチャイチャパラダイス, Icha Icha Paradaisu?, literally "Make out Paradise"), an adult and probably pornographic novel authored by Jiraiya that is a runaway bestseller in the Naruto world. Kakashi most prominently reads it while training and speaking with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, and later in the series can be seen reading the second volume, "Icha Icha Violence" (イチャイチャバイオレンス, Icha Icha Baiorensu?, literally Make Out Violence").

Kakashi has an ongoing, albeit slightly one-sided, rivalry with Might Guy; Guy constantly proclaims that Kakashi is his rival and challenges him on occasion, but Kakashi simply acts indifferent to the matter, annoying Guy to no end. Kakashi's current record stands at 49 wins and 50 losses, though the contests that make up this figure are so varied that it is not much of an achievement on Guy's part. Nevertheless, Guy is proud of his record. The contests have included 100-meter dashes, sumo-wrestling, ramen-eating contests, and even Rock, Paper, Scissors. Guy serves as a perfect antithesis for Kakashi in personality, appearance, and technique. Unlike Kakashi, Guy had to work hard to achieve success as a ninja and mainly uses taijutsu. Kakashi, on the other hand, uses mainly ninjutsu and other techniques he copies with his Sharingan.

Kakashi's personal life appears to be as much of a mystery as the face behind the mask he has worn for most of his ninja career. He has no living family, or at least none he cares to acknowledge, and he's confirmed that everyone he loves is already dead. He is immediately recognizable as the son of (or mistaken for) the "White Fang of Konoha" (木ノ葉の白い牙, Konoha no Shiroi Kiba?), Sakumo Hatake. Though his face has never been seen, episode 101, which is devoted to Team Kakashi trying to remove their sensei's mask, implies that he is in fact quite handsome.

According to official handbook his favorite foods are broiled saury with salt and miso soup with eggplant; his least, Tempura. His favorite word is "Teamwork." His hobby is reading "Icha Icha Paradise."