Sōken Ishida

Sōken Ishida (石田 宗弦, Ishida Sōken?), was the father of Ryūken Ishida and the grandfather of Uryū Ishida. He trained Uryū and Ryūken in Quincy abilities throughout his childhood, becoming his mentor in the process. He was a kind old man whom Uryū admired. He preached an unusual variant of Quincy philosophy advocating cooperation with the Shinigami. Sōken tried to make amends with Soul Reapers by advocating a new system of response to hollow attacks: Quincy would be the first-response squad, protecting humans from hollows until Soul Reapers arrived to help. His proposal was never accepted, and he was eventually killed in a hollow attack. Mayuri Kurotsuchi reveals to Uryū that this was his doing; he delayed the Soul Reapers meant to protect Sōken so that he could study Sōken's soul for his research. According to a reflection of a photograph seen in Uryu's glasses, all that was left of him in the end was his head. His death is the primary reason Uryū hates the Shinigami, although after learning of the conspiracy Uryū's hatred has become less for Shinigami in general than for Mayuri in particular.