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In Naruto, Haku is a rogue Ninja that fights along Zabuza. He has a sad history of death and mistreatment that I won't treat here.

In any case, the Haku's peculiarity is that although he looks/behaves/dresses like a woman, he is a man. But not all sources agree with this, so... Is Haku a man or a woman?

Is there a reason for the first part in my spoiler? Or is it just a plot device?

If your answer contains something that appears or is explained after the Bridge battle with Team 7 (as far as Haku is concerned), please use a spoiler.

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7
  • 1
    why this question? it's a guy! no doubt!
    – Rookie Programmer Aravind
    Jan 14, 2013 at 10:27
  • 3
    @Sai Until the Manga is completed and finished, we don't really know 100%. What if by the end of the Manga they reveal the opposite? :D
    – Alenanno
    Jan 14, 2013 at 10:30
  • haha .. no Kishi should spare that much mercy on his Fans .. I am sure he does ..
    – Rookie Programmer Aravind
    Jan 14, 2013 at 10:37
  • surprise with false identity characters are fine not with gender! :P
    – Rookie Programmer Aravind
    Jan 14, 2013 at 10:38
  • 1
    Yes, at the last chapter of the series, after the world peace has been confirmed, Haku's ghost comes to Naruto and explains that he's a in fact a she. That'd be brilliant.
    – Bibhas
    Aug 26, 2013 at 19:40

7 Answers 7

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19

I do not think that Haku was considered as a woman is considered a spoiler.

After all, they discover that only 1 episode after Team 7 met him. I can guarantee for sure that Haku is a man. Despite what other sources probably say, there are plenty of men in real life who look like women (Justin Bieber is good example). What I cannot tell you is what was the perspective of Zabuza for him (if he was just a Friend or something "Else").

I say this only because the one who told Naruto that significant detail was Haku himself, so there isn't a lot of room for mistakes.

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6
  • It is. Not a major one, but still a spoiler. :)
    – Alenanno
    Dec 15, 2012 at 18:49
  • 15
    +1 for "there are plenty of men in real life who look like women (Justin Bieber is good example),"
    – SingerOfTheFall
    Dec 15, 2012 at 18:49
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    Justin Bieber is a good example.
    – Madara's Ghost
    Dec 15, 2012 at 21:23
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    Justin Bieber is a guy -SPOILER :P
    – Rookie Programmer Aravind
    Mar 3, 2013 at 8:25
  • 4
    Anime.SE: Where two mortal enemies can comment on each others' answers regarding the gender of a person.
    – Mateen Ulhaq
    Jul 2, 2016 at 4:51
15

Haku is a boy. It's stated in the First Databook, page 91.

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2

I think Haku is actually a woman.
However, she tells Naruto she is a man (I think in chapter 21).

Whichever may be the case, I believe she does not care. What she cares most about is being able to serve Zabuza (if she can serve him, she is wanted in this world). For this, she sees herself as a tool, her only purpose being to see that Zabuza accomplishes his objectives (I believe it is in chapter 29 that she explains this to Naruto). She also tells Naruto that if she fails Zabuza she'd rather be dead, because she's lost her purpose.

To sum up, I believe that whichever may be the case, it is ultimately irrelevant to her/him, since:
Tools do not have genders.
As such, Haku does not have a gender.

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4
  • 1
    Do you have references for that?
    – Alenanno
    Dec 15, 2012 at 18:36
  • 2
    "Haku is a woman" --> Spoiler. "She does not care" --> no spoiler. :D
    – looper
    Dec 15, 2012 at 22:16
  • @looper My question is hidden so no-one knows that's an important point but now you're making it public. :)
    – Alenanno
    Dec 15, 2012 at 22:24
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    Your question also made the actual question hard (if not impossible) to find, @Alenanno. Which sorta defeats the point of not just deleting it now that you have an answer. If something's worth keeping around, it's worth making it clear enough for others with the same question to find and utilize.
    – Shog9
    Dec 18, 2012 at 1:46
1

I agree that there are few characters in Naruto/Shippuden who look male in the manga but female in the anime.

example: Katsuyu

But Haku is a guy in both the anime and the manga. No doubt about it. Though just based on looks, Naruto (and even viewers) mistake him for a girl, he clarifies he is a guy! :)

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4
1

Haku is a man.

There are lot of manga that have in-common like that. One good example is the Zoldyck Family in Hunter X Hunter.

All of Killua's siblings are boys. Yet you can see them wearing Kimono's with make up and long hair. Attractable beauty but stated as boys.

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3
  • To take slight issue with your example, I would argue that of the Zoldyeck brothers, only Kalluto and Alluka look feminine. There's also nothing particularly feminine about a kimono or even long hair. Kalluto's distinct appearance as a traditional Japanese doll DOES make him look feminine, though (in spite of a lack of particularly long hair).
    – Kiruwa
    Feb 4, 2013 at 22:40
  • Do Japanese boys wear kimono with pillows on their back also?
    – Sid
    Feb 5, 2013 at 6:22
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    As far as I know, the 'pillow' is just a particular way of folding the obi, although that does tend to be limited to women at this point. Keep in mind that what a westerner might interpret as intentionally feminine, a Japanese viewer might interpret as simply old. By modern standards, male dress from the Heian era was fairly feminine. (Similarly, when a westerner sees a painting of a horseman from the high middle ages, the high-heels don't make said horseman look feminine)
    – Kiruwa
    Feb 5, 2013 at 17:47
0

I agree with JNat's answer based on the premise that I thought that Haku was a girl from day one.

Firstly, Haku portrays the physical and emotional traits of a female even though she tries hard to be a male (Zabuza's tool). Secondly, Naruto called her sir, keep in mind that they also call Tsunade sir so that does not really indicate gender. My third reason is that as JNat also says, she does not care, when Zabuza found her, she was weak, being referred to as a boy or behaving like one no doubt made her seem stronger in his eyes.

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-2

Haku is a girl. She sees her self as a guy or boy but she is a girl. At episode 17 in the anime haku's mother says "sorry my daughter". After slapping her around for ussing her powers.

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1
  • There are numerous official sources which heavily contradict this answer.
    – Makoto
    Sep 19, 2016 at 14:35

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