Haku

Nigihayami Kohakunushi (饒速水小白主, Nigihayami Kohakunushi, lit. "Master of the Swift Amber River"), referred throughout most of the film by the name Yubaba gives him: Haku (ハク, haku), is the deuteragonist in the 2001 animated film Spirited Away.

Human Form
Haku appears to be around 12 years old in physical age. He has straight black hair (some see it as black, others say dark/forest green) in a bob haircut and slanted, green eyes.

When he is human, Haku wears a traditional white robe that resembles closely a Kariginu tied with a lavender sash, a short traditional indigo dyed Sashinuki (a type of kuribakama) underneath, and beige sandals. A darker blue Hitoe can be seen from the sides and shoulders of the robes.

Dragon Form
When he transforms into his dragon form, he has a teal and mint green mane, with a white, scaled body.

History
Haku first appears when Chihiro is on the bridge to the Bathhouse. At this, he quickly tells to her to get out of the town and get back across the river before nightfall. But when Chihiro fails to do this, she runs off in a panic. Haku then goes to search for her and when Chihiro realizes she is becoming invisible, he gives her something to eat so she won't disappear. Haku then unbinds her when her legs become stuck and takes her to the bath house. Then, he helps her cross the bridge and in the garden outback, he tells her that she needs to get a job to survive from Kamajī, the boiler man.

After Chihiro succeeds in getting a job, Haku then hands her off to Lin. The next morning, he takes her to her parents, who have been turned into pigs. Haku then warns Chihiro that if she forgets her real name like he forgot his, then she will be trapped in the spirit world forever. That moment was when Chihiro knew that she could trust him. Then, Haku leaves and comes back days later, gravely injured by paper birds and blood dripping from his body, in dragon form. Now, Haku ends up in Yubaba's office bleeding and close to death. Having Chihiro on his back, they end up falling down a shaft and into the boiler room with Kamaji.

Then, while Chihiro is off returning the seal that Haku allegedly stole, he tells Yubaba that he will get her son back and flies off to Zeniba's (Yubaba's twin sister). Yubaba agreed to let Chihiro, but she needed to test her. Zeniba then tells them that only true love can break the curse. Flying in the night with Chihiro on his back, Chihiro tells him that when she was little she fell into a river to retrieve a little pink shoe and that she thought she would drown, but, he saved her. She continues and says the river's name was the Kohaku river, thus; revealing his real name. Both of them return to the bath house and they say their good-byes at the river which has now been filled in.

However, Haku promises that he and Chihiro would one day meet again as he lets go of her hand and watches her leave to go find her parents.

Personality
Haku has multiple personalities. He can sometimes be kind-hearted and supportive, other times strict and high-strung. He is wise and is able to act accordingly to the situation. He is more than willing to stick his neck out when he cares about someone. From the beginning of the story, through to the end, he does everything within his power to keep Chihiro unharmed and to help her leave safely. His steadfast resolve helps Chihiro finally trust him, amidst contradictory information from other Spirited Away characters about him.

Haku always said she could trust him. However, Lin, was not sure of Haku's intentions and told Chihiro to not trust him. Yubaba's twin sister, Zeniba insisted that Haku is a greedy thief, who had stolen her golden seal. In the end, Chihiro puts her faith in Haku. Later, it is revealed that Haku is Yubaba's slave, who controlled him with a black worm in his body.

Abilities
As a river spirit, Haku possessed supernatural powers that are primarily associated with the element of water. Examples of powers he was shown to possess are:
 * Asian Dragon Physiology: Due to Haku being a Japanese river spirit, he has the power to take on the form of an Asian dragon, and was shown to be able to fly in this state.
 * Arcane Knowledge: Due to his status as a river spirit, as well as being Yubaba's apprentice, Haku possesses an extensive knowledge of magic and the spirit world, which he regularly used to keep Chihiro out of trouble and, ultimately, free her and her parents from the spirit world.
 * Flower Petal Manipulation (possibly): Though it was never specifically confirmed, it is possible that Haku has the ability to create, shape and manipulate flower petals - when trying to help Chihiro escape the spirit world during their first meeting, he blew petals from his fingertips to serve as a distraction from those who might have sensed her presence.
 * Spell Casting: Haku has the ability to cast spells, allowing him to alter reality to various effects - he used a spell to enable Chihiro to regain the use of her legs while she was still adjusting to being in the spirit world.
 * Telekinesis: Haku has the ability to move objects with his mind, which he channeled through his hands - while he was trying to escort Chihiro to safety, he opened doors at a distance merely by gesturing at them with his hands.
 * Cloaking (limited): Haku has the ability to hide the presence of oneself or others, preventing others from detecting or discovering one's location. However, this ability is shown to be limited - when Chihiro took a breath out of sheer shock at seeing Aogaeru, Haku's cloaking over her was broken, enabling Aogaeru to identify her as a human through her scent.
 * Force-Field Imprisonment: Haku has the ability to bind, or imprison, or stop objects and individuals by using forcefields - when Aogaeru tried to attack Chihiro when she was exposed as a human, Haku stopped him by imprisoning him in a forcefield.
 * Flight: Even when in human form, Haku has the ability to defy gravity and propel himself through the air at tremendous speeds and heights.
 * Telepathy: Haku has the ability to implant memories and thoughts in other people's minds through direct contact to their head, which he used to guide Chihiro to Kamaji's boiler room and communicate to Chihiro in her sleep to meet Haku at the river to see her parents.
 * Supernatural Cooking: Haku has the ability to cook anything with supernatural or magical properties - during his and Chihiro's second encounter, he fed her a berry that enabled her to take corporeal form in the spirit world, and, much later on, he fed her rice cakes that enabled her to regain both her physical and mental strength, as well as to retain her optimism.

Relationships

 * Chihiro
 * Yubaba

Quotes

 * "You shouldn't be here."
 * "Get out of here now!"
 * "It's almost night."
 * "They're lighting the lamps."
 * "Leave before it gets dark."
 * "No, but for some reason, I remember yours."
 * "Don't be afraid."
 * "In the name of the wind and water within thee, unbind her."
 * "Even the tiniest breath will break the spell, and then everyone will see you."
 * "Get up."
 * "I'm back from my mission."
 * "Three days of our food and her smell will go away."
 * "It's about my mission, right?"
 * "Wait a minute."
 * "You haven't noticed that something precious to you has been replaced."
 * "Yeah, I remember being in darkness."
 * "You did it, Chihiro!
 * "I remember you falling into my river and I remember your little pink shoe."
 * "If you don't get a job, Yubaba will turn you into an animal."
 * "Now go, and don't look back." - Last words to Chihiro

Name
Haku means "white" like the color of his dragon form and his clothing. He wears a hakama, a clothing of the priest. He speaks very politely and is noble, which indicates his origin as a deity. He calls himself watashi instead of boku.

Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi is his real name. In the film, he just calls himself Kohaku River for short. He forgot his real name a long time ago, because the Kohaku river was destroyed and covered up with apartments.
 * 1) Nigihayami implies his noble lineage nigi haya hi no mikot.
 * 2) Kohaku means amber.
 * 3) Nushi means spirit.


 * The name "Haku" means "white" (白), while the name "Kohaku" means "amber" (琥珀).

His real name is based on several gods including Nigihayahi no Mikoto (饒速日命), a god of sun and agriculture in Japanese mythology, and Haya-Akitsu Hiko (速秋津彦), a dragon god of river.

Trivia

 * Haku is the only character in the film able to turn into a dragon at will.
 * As Haku once served as Yubaba's apprentice, he likely has similar magical skills as she does.
 * The river Haku resided in was filled in with apartment buildings, according to Chihiro.
 * It is unknown if Haku can still turn into a dragon after regaining his lost name and memories.
 * Yubaba threatened Haku with killing him if she set Chihiro free if she found her parents in a group of pigs. In the English translation, Yubaba said instead Chihiro had to stay at the Bathhouse forever.
 * In the close-up of Haku, you see his shining eyes. This idea came from Hideaki Anno, because he refused Hayao Miyazaki's offer to draw Haku transparent.
 * Haku's humane form somewhat resembles Kosho and his brothers in Howl's Moving Castle.
 * Haku bears a resemblance to Akira Toya from Hikaru NO Go.
 * Haku's dragon form bears a strong resemblance to the Toho Kaiju Manda, specifically the design seen in the movie Atragon.

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Haku Kohaku 千と千尋の神隠し Хаку 白龍