Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-23856040-20130928160348/@comment-26420452-20130930093647

There are some sources contradicting it, yes. He seems younger in the flash-blacks about Sōken (I'd say 6 years old), so that means he had had already his powers awakened. We don't know why, but it's undeniable he's special ^^ (and come on, it's always Ichigo being the special one; some other people deserve it too) :P