Kotoha Hanaori

''"Shinken Yellow! Hanaori Kotoha!" "The Same! Yellow! Kotoha Hanaori!" "Super Shinken Yellow! Going Forth!"''

Kotoha Hanaori is Shinken Yellow of the Shinkengers. She is a pure-hearted girl who worked in a bamboo shop. Her sister, Mitsuba Hanaori, was originally intended to become Shinken Yellow, but when she became ill, Kotoha had to replace her.

Shinkenger
Kotoha, obedient and skilled at martial arts, commands the element of earth as Shinken Yellow. Yet, for all her skill, Kotoha is extremely hard on herself, primarily because she believes that she is stupid and an unfit replacement for Mitsuba. The other Shinkengers try to dissuade her from believing so, she refuses to believe it. Her acknowelegement of her faults were strong enough that she was immune to the power of an Ayakashi who used the internal negative feelings against themselves, with Kotoha's will so strong due to her self-loathing that she was unaffected by its power. It's only after Mitsuba sends her a letter, telling her that she is the true Shinken Yellow, that Kotoha begins to accept herself as a true Shinkenger.

Kotoha is very selfless and kind; her kindness caused Matsumiya, a young plutocrat, to fall in love with her. Her selflessness was highlighted when she pretended to loathe Matsumiya, pretending her desire for his hand in marriage was fueled by greed. When her soul was stolen, she was glad that she was the only one among the team to have had this happen to them.

Kotoha has great respect for all the members of the group, especially Mako and Takeru. Kotoha admires Mako as a female, stating that she is pretty, intelligent and can cook (apparently oblivious to the fact that Mako is a terrible cook). Kotoha looks up to Takeru and always shows respect to him. Because of this, Kotoha feels quite uncomfortable when she poses as Matsumiya's fiancee, with Takeru acting as her butler.

Kotoha and Chiaki are the youngest Shinkengers, with Kotoha stated being younger than Chiaki. Because their similar age, they have a strong bond. In fact, several episodes focus on their relationship. Kotoha and Chiaki experience some tension because he dislikes how she readilly believes that she is stupid, and he accidentally hurts her feelings. Chiaki later apologizes, and Kotoha tells him that she admires his straightforwardness.

When one is feeling stressed, one will try to cheer the other up. Kotoha is Chiaki's staunchest supporter and readily goes along with his plans, despite how reckless they often are. When her soul was stolen, Chiaki, out of all them, was troubled the most by this event. He was the first to go seek the Ayakashi that had stole Kotoha's soul and he was the first to consider becoming a Gedounin in order to enter the Sanzu River in order to find said Ayakashi.

Gokaiger
Months after wiping out the last of the Gedoushu, Kotoha fought alongside not only her own team, but every single Sentai ranger in existence, against the Empire of Zangyack when it attacked the Earth in the Great Legend War. After fighting against hundreds of Gormin and their Zgormin commanders, Akarenger noticed the fleet moving towards them and gathered all the Rangers together and gave them the order to sacrifice their powers to wipe out the first invasion's armada.

After the Zangyack's final defeat, Marvelous returned the Ranger Keys to their original owners. It is assumed Kotoha and her team have their powers back once again.

Super Hero Taisen
Kotoha, alongside her team (Shinken Gold and Princess Shinken Red were absent), among the majority of the Super Sentai heroes, was caught up in the "Super Hero Taisen" incident which eventually resulted in the Super Sentai teams and Kamen Riders joining forces to defeat both Dai-Zangyack and Dai-Shocker. Ironically, the Shinkengers were acquainted with the Great Leader of Dai-Shocker, Tsukasa Kadoya, also known as Kamen Rider Decade, having encountered him before when he visited their world.

Super Hero Taisen Z
to be added

Super Sentai Battle: Ranger Cross
Shinken Yellow appears with her team in Super Sentai Battle: Ranger Cross.

Ranger Key
The Shinken Yellow Ranger Key (シンケンイエローレンジャーキー) is Kotoha Hanaori's personal Ranger Key and what became of her powers after he along with the rest of the 34 Super Sentai sacrificed their powers to end the Great Legend War.

This key along with the majority of the Ranger Keys were collected by the Red Pirates and later used by the Gokaigers. The Shinken Yellow Ranger Key was mainly used by Luka Millfy (Gokai Yellow), who used it to fight as Shinken Yellow.
 * When the Gokaigers became the Shinkengers in their fight with Action Commander Shikabanen and his Zangyack force.
 * When the Gokaigers became the Shinkengers in their fight with Deratsueigar of the Imperial Guard.
 * When the Gokaigers became the Shinkengers to take down Action Commander Osogain's Zugormin.

After Zangyack were finally defeated, the Gokaigers gave the Ranger Keys back to their rightful owners. It is presumed that Kotoha received her key and became Shinken Yellow once more.

Portrayal
Kotoha Hanaori is portrayed by Suzuka Morita (森田 涼花), who later portrayed Shelly in Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie and Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters Missions 31 and 32. As Shinken Yellow, her suit actor was Miwa Hashiguchi (橋口 未和), her sub was Sanae Hitomi (人見 早苗).