Could one of the mods make a guide on creating a village hidden in the mist OC?
So Kirigakure OCs are, of course, varied like OCs from any other country. But, Kiri has a history different from any other country too! The personalities and ways of life that develop in the Bloody Mist times and the New Era under Terumi Mei can be greatly different.
This first thing to note with Kiri clothing is the stripes. Almost every character we’ve been introduced to is wearing stripes; Zabuza, Haku, Chojuro, Ao…even Kisame. Some of them also seem to have a habit of wearing camo, but stripes are most common!
Kiri shinobi also tend to wear darker, duller colors - or dark, rich colors if you’re looking at Mei’s blue and Ao’s green.
High necked clothing also seems the way to go! A majority of the characters from Kiri tend to have a top that’s high-necked, or they wear bandages or scarves to cover their necks.
Some more common clothing trends to think about:
Kimonos, haoris, etc.; they have lots of references to traditional Japanese styles.
Style brings up Hunter-nin:
Hunter-nin masks in Kiri are very simple - they’re plain, flat white masks with curved eyes. The marking on them are also kept simple, done in red or blue. Style comes up because they all wear the same uniform, though some have small variations.
They all have a brown pinstriped under-layer - the length of it varying - covered by a deep green haori with white trim (also of varying length depending on the shinobi), belted shut with some type of obi.
Hunter-nin will be expended upon in the Culture section.
First of all: If your OC is going to be born during the Third War or after…Kekkei genkai are inadvisable. Towards the end of that war paranoia was rampant and most of the families with kekkei genkai were destroyed. Some escaped, but they live far away from shinobi villages and keep said heritage secret.
That doesn’t mean you can’t make an OC with one of Kiri’s kekkei genkai. They just wouldn’t be very well accepted, at least not until Mei takes over. Even then they aren’t quite accepted, as on page 2 of manga chapter 522 some Kiri shinobi refer to Reanimated Haku as a child of “that cursed ice-release clan”, which speaks volumes. Though, it can be done, and it can be done well, but it takes a lot of effort and story building.
Can’t say much on eyes, but hair tends to be darker or more muted, not bright.Chojuro has blue hair, but it’s a dull blue. Same with Mei’s red hair - it’s a dull, rusty red. Exceptions to that are the Hozuki and Kaguya that have bright white hair - though they aren’t the only ones that can have said hair…which brings up Kaguyas: Don’t. The clan was wiped out after their attack on Kiri.
Teeth are another thing that come to mind when one thinks of Kirigakure, thanks to the characters that have those sharp, “shark” teeth. Zabuza, Kisame, both Hozuki brothers, and Chojuro have those sharp teeth - so it’s doubtful that they’re specific to any one clan. Or they all have an ancestor from the same clan. Either way, normal or sharp teeth are available options to you.
The culture of a place has an unavoidable effect on a person who grows up there, no matter how slight. The continued fear of the Yuki clan mentioned above shows that, seeing as it was a comment made during the 4th Shinobi World War. Kirigakure has always been a darker village, and the Era of the Bloody Mist is the culmination of that darkness.
Many of the shinobi raised during that time were ruthless killers, hence the name. Of course you had people who rebelled against that moniker and style of life, hence Terumi Mei and her followers. Or you had Utakata who just left to live in peace because he didn’t like it. But their thoughts and feeling were molded by the place they grew up, and how they saw and felt about the things that were happening.
Is your OC all for the Bloody Mist? Part of the rebellion? Indifferent? Were they born after? Before? What were their parents like?
Another part of their culture is their fighting styles:
Silent Killing is basically a trademark of Kiri, and they are know for it despite it being a technique others use. It makes use of the Kirigakure no jutsu, or the hidden in the mist jutsu, and quiet, precise movements. You can read more about it on the wiki.
Combined with the silent killing techniques is the automatic aim for one of the seven vital spots. Which is a good thing to learn for any shinobi, but it works really well with silent killing since the purpose of it is a quick, silent kill.
I’d also imagine fighting on or in water is also taught there, since they are the major village in the Land of Water. While I don’t believeit’s been stated that they do, I’d imagine Kiri probably makes use of rebreathers, or that they even have a chakra trick that allows their lungs to hold extra oxygen or to hold oxygen longer.
Senbon and swords are also a big part of Kirigakure’s culture - though not everyone learns about the latter, though I suspect everyone in Kiri is sufficient enough with senbon. And senbon brings us back to another topic -
Hunter-nin. Hunter-nin from Kiri make great use of senbon combined with silent killing, so if your OC is a Hunter-nin, they’re likely going to have to be very proficient with them. Though that’s not to say that has to be their only specialty.
Kuriarare was a hunter-nin (he had the mask, anyways) - but his sword was basically a giant needle. But it still stands to say that hunter-nin don’t only use senbon - and that, once again, kenjutsu is pretty prominent in Kiri.
Good luck with all of your Kiri OC endeavors!
