He was most famous for his Wood Release techniques, a kekkei genkai to mix earth and water-natured chakra to create this new element. By converting chakra into the source of life, he was able to create trees, causing them to grow to great sizes and manipulate them to diverse shapes and battle uses at will. It was said that this ability was used to create the very landscape and foundation that Konoha is built upon. This ability was apparently unique for him, since none of his relatives were shown using the ability. Even Yamato, the only person to have proved compatible with Hashirama's genes, found his use of Wood Release to be much weaker in raw power. Yamato has also shown great skill in standard water and earth techniques, so it is presumed Hashirama could do water and earth techniques as well.
The ability Orochimaru most highly praised him for was his unique ability to control tailed beasts. Of all his considerable talents, it was this ability in particular that made Hashirama unparalleled in the shinobi world, so much so that he is regarded as one of the few people capable of completely controlling a tailed beast.[3] At one time, he had many of the beasts in his possession. This ability was greatly amplified by his crystal necklace, which Yamato suggested was a requirement to control even Naruto's partial lapses into tailed forms.