Shinigami

are guardians of the souls who are going through the circle of transmigration. In ancient times, they were known as. They purify Hollows who do evil in the World of the Living and ensure the safe crossing of souls - the Pluses who have lost their way after death - by giving them a soul burial. Shinigami are the opposite of the Quincy.

Overview
Shinigami are unearthly beings living in a world ruled by a different logic than the World of the Living. They possess high Reiryoku and a body of Reishi. They are invisible to those without spiritual powers.

When Souls with exceptional spiritual energy train their bodies, they reach the level of Shinigami. The most talented of them become affiliated with various organizations like the Gotei 13 and the Onmitsukidō. The majority of potential Shinigami are born among the residents of the Seireitei, but in some rare cases are born in the Rukongai.

Shinigami receive salaries, like workers in the Human World and also earn bounties for defeating Hollows. Retirement from further military duties can occur, though this is rare.

All Shinigami have vents at their wrists which release their Reiatsu. If they are blocked off, the Shinigami in question would be incinerated by their own Reiatsu from the inside out. If a Shinigami's and  are pierced, their spiritual powers are sealed up and they most likely can never regain their lost powers again.

Shinigami have a number of supernatural abilities:


 * Longevity: Shinigami can live for far longer and age much slower than Humans. Byakuya Kuchiki, one of the youngest current Gotei 13 captains, was a teenager 110 years before the White Invasion. In Rukia Kuchiki's first encounter with Ichigo Kurosaki, she stated to have lived nearly ten times longer than he has. Retsu Unohana, Chōjirō Sasakibe, Shunsui Kyōraku, and Jūshirō Ukitake are all at least 2,000 years old  and still appear to be in their prime.  Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the oldest known Shinigami, was middle-aged when he was still an instructor at the Shin'ō Academy 2,100 years before the White Invasion. In rare cases, such as with Sōsuke Aizen, a Shinigami can achieve immortality and live past their millennia long sentences in Muken.


 * Enhanced Durability and Endurance: While Shinigami can be injured and killed like regular Humans, it takes considerably more attack power and greater injuries to kill a Shinigami than it would to kill Humans. Some Shinigami have sustained multiple slash and stab wounds, completely ignored dismemberment, and even survived horizontal bifurcation with treatment. Decapitation is the only guaranteed method of outright killing a Shinigami.


 * Reiryoku: Shinigami naturally possess high levels of Spiritual Power, which varies greatly in magnitude with the strength of a Shinigami. The more power a Shinigami has, the sharper their movements will be. A consequence of having Spiritual Power is that unlike powerless spirits, Shinigami need to eat.


 * Reiatsu: Reiatsu is the pressure exerted from a Shinigami's Reiryoku, and is used for their various techniques. The Reiatsu of a Shinigami will continue to flow for as long as the heart is still beating; if the heart beats, it is impossible for the Reiatsu to cease. Due to this, prisoners, such as Aizen, who cannot have their heart stopped by any executioner in Soul Society are kept in Muken.


 * Zanpakutō: A Shinigami weapon, its shape is typically similar to a Japanese katana. Low ranking officers are issued an Asauchi sword, but high-ranking officers arm themselves with unique swords generated from their own souls. A Zanpakutō is a physical manifestation of this force concentrated into a blade. All Shinigami have a Zanpakutō, but not all of them carry one with them. Its shape differs depending on its owner.

Exiled Shinigami
There are some Shinigami who exist in exile, namely Yoruichi Shihōin, Tessai Tsukabishi, and Kisuke Urahara. They will work with the Shinigami at times but still remain in exile.

Appearance
Most Shinigami appear like average Humans. There are, however, a few Shinigami who are less Human-like in appearance. For example, there are much greater variations in body-sizes between Shinigami than between Humans, with small childlike Shinigami such as the 109 cm tall Yachiru Kusajishi and giant Shinigami such as Sajin Komamura, who is 288 cm tall. Variations do not just occur in size but in overall appearance, too, the most notable example being Captain Komamura, who is an anthropomorphic wolf.


 * The black kimono worn by Shinigami. It is customary to wear a white undergarment underneath. Some wear bright colored scarves with it or shorten the sleeves. They commonly carry their Zanpakutō, which is in most cases tied to their obi sash.

World of the Living

 * the process by which a Shinigami sends wandering Pluses in the Human World to Soul Society if they are good in life or Hell if their life was full of evil acts (such as murders, theft, etc.). Konsō is performed by using the hilt of the Shinigami's Zanpakutō, tapping the soul on their forehead and transporting them to the afterlife.


 * Hollow Cleansing: When a Shinigami slays a Hollow with their Zanpakutō, they cleanse their sins. Once this takes place, a Hollow will return to its former state as a Plus and is led into Soul Society. This is called sublimation. Souls that live in Soul Society are reborn again into the Human World. Not all Hollows are sent to the Soul Society. Since Zanpakutō are only capable of cleansing sins committed after becoming a Hollow, Hollows that committed serious crimes when they were still Human are sent to Hell when they are slain.


 * Soul Governance: Shinigami are responsible for governing the flow of spirits between the Human World and Soul Society. This is commonly carried out by balancing the total number of souls by moving and managing them in the Human world. All of the soul-related jobs are under their authority.

Training

 * An educational organization with a 2,000-year-old history, founded by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. It was once called the Shinigami Academy. It changed to Spiritual Arts Academy when it developed into an institute for the next generation of the Kidō Corps and Onmitsukidō as well the Gotei 13. In the Rukongai, it is still referred to as the Shinigami Academy. The Shinigami Academy is one of two groups that is not under the jurisdiction of the Central 46 Chambers.

Combat

 * Basic Shinigami fighting techniques. Zan refers to sword fighting techniques. Ken refers to unarmed fighting techniques. So refers to moving techniques. Ki refers to Kidō. According to Sōsuke Aizen, each technique requires a certain level of power, and mastery is determined by one's own potential.


 * Zanjutsu: Sword fighting techniques for the Zanpakutō. The most basic fighting technique.


 * Hakuda: An unarmed fighting technique that makes use of one's own body in a fight.


 * Hohō: The name for all high-speed fighting movements based on the art of Shunpo.


 * Kidō: Advanced spells that require strong spiritual power: Hadō and Bakudō.

Mission Aids
To aid in their missions, particularly when said missions involve more than simply dispatching a Hollow, Shinigami have a number of unique items to assist them in their duties.


 * Gigai: The temporary bodies that Shinigami use in the World of the Living. They were created by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.


 * Jigokuchō: The butterflies that Shinigami use to lead them to the World of the Living. They are also used as messengers in Soul Society.


 * Spiritual Limiter: All Shinigami captains and lieutenants have their spiritual energy reduced by about 80% when they enter the Human World by use of a spiritual limit, represented by a seal called the, which resembles the symbol unique to their Division, in order not to cause unnecessarily high damage while there. In extreme cases, where their full power is needed, they can request a limit release. The command to release the seal is.


 * Denreishinki: A vital tool for any Shinigami stationed in the Real World, this variation on a cell phone functions both as a regular phone and as a communication line with the Soul Society. It receives information about the time and exact location of a Hollow's emergence via GPS. A Shinigami's kills are also recorded in the phone and can be used as currency (according to the bounty placed on each Hollow).


 * Similar in function to a Denreishinki, this scroll-like object lists a Shinigami's targets and instructions for their mission.


 * Gokon Tekkō: A glove which has a skull symbol on it, which can be used to force the soul out of a body. Kisuke Urahara also has a skull symbol on the end of his cane, which can be used in the same manner.


 * Artificial Souls: Souls designed by Shinigami scientists to separate a Shinigami's spirit from a Gigai, should they be inhabiting one, or to evict stubborn spirits from their corpses if necessary. It is commonly called Soul Candy, as the Shinigami Women's Association complained that the name "Artificial Soul" was not cute and had it changed.


 * Modified Souls: Artificial souls designed to enhance regular Human physiology, making them capable of battling Hollows equally. The Mod-Souls are condensed into tiny, candy-like orbs and placed into corpses to achieve their function as soldiers to combat Hollows. The Mod-Souls were exterminated after the experiment was halted due to ethical reasons since they were intended to be used to reanimate Human corpses to use as weapons against the Hollows. But there are still a small amount left; namely Kon, Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba.


 * A memory substitution device used on humans who have seen Shinigami or Hollows. Also called . When used, a bird's head pops from the top of the device and produces a puff of smoke. The Human it is used on is knocked unconscious and wakes up a while later with a new memory. However, the new memory that the Human acquires is random and often based on the limits of what they will believe. For example, Ichigo's family merely believed they slept through a truck crashing into their house when it was used on them. Conversely, Orihime Inoue, who has a much more active imagination, believed that her house was attacked by a yakuza gunman.

Substitute Shinigami
A is a human who became Shinigami by obtaining another Shinigami's power, or by going through a much harder and riskier process to transform him/herself into one. Obtaining another Shinigami's power is done by thrusting his/her Zanpakutō into the person's chest who wants to obtain the power. However, the percentage of success is low. In the case of success, the person normally obtains around half of the Shinigami's power, and only temporarily at that. The transferral of a Shinigami's powers to a Human is forbidden by the Soul Society

In the case of the individual borrowing the power being a Human, several difficulties arise, illustrated by the example of Ichigo. In order to be able to fight as a Shinigami, he has to leave his body and get into soul state, which can only be by use of a Gokon Tekkō or Soul Candy. In the former case, his body needs to be taken care of until he finishes his job and re-enters it.

If a Substitute Shinigami appears, Soul Society gives that Shinigami a special badge which they use to monitor and restrict the Substitute. However, the Substitute is told that it is a license which is given to Substitutes that prove beneficial to Soul Society to allow them to do their work and identify them as a Substitute. The badge alerts the user if Hollows are nearby via an alarm sound which can only be heard by the owner and the item itself is only visible to other spiritually aware beings. The Badge can also allow the soul to leave the body.

Visored
Shinigami who have gained Hollow abilities, through Hollowfication, and use those abilities to gain power far exceeding and beyond that of a normal Shinigami or Hollow.

Trivia

 * In Ryōgo Narita's novel Bleach: Spirits Are Forever With You, Shinigami lifespans are implied to be even longer, as Sōya Azashiro, who had not achieved immortality, was sentenced to 19,250 years in Muken.
 * In Narita's novel Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World, the Royal Guard are revealed to have eternal life granted by their Ōken, as Ichibē Hyōsube has defended the Soul King for over a million years without growing older. Ōetsu Nimaiya had also been alive since before Yamamoto even had a Zanpakutō, yet by the time of the Quincy Blood War, has not aged in the same way as the now elderly Shinigami.