Jūshirō Ukitake

is the captain of the 13th Division in the Gotei 13. The now-deceased Kaien Shiba once served as his lieutenant.

Character
Jūshirō Ukitake, along with his long-time close friend Shunsui Kyōraku, was one of the first shinigami to graduate the shinigami academy and one of the first to become a captain. Ukitake, however, suffers from tuberculosis, which is the cause of his white hair, sickly appearance, and a considerable hunger, and as such couldn't regularly perform his captain duties. At first his lieutenant, Kaien Shiba, performed them, following his death these were performed by his 3rd Seat officers, Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki. Ukitake is well-respected and highly honorable, and will never let any harm go to either his underlings or those who attempt to protect them. Ukitake will never give up if he believes something is wrong and will break a rule should he must. In various Bleach omake chapters, Jūshirō is fond of giving people strange or unwanted gifts for no apparent reason, particularly Tōshirō Hitsugaya for their similar sounding names and hair color.

History
Jūshirō is the eldest son from the low-class aristocratic Ukitake family. He has five brothers and two sisters, whom he essentially supports by himself. He, along with Shunsui Kyōraku, was one of the first graduates of Captain Yamamoto's academy. Furthermore, he was personally trained by Yamamoto. It is implied that he and Kyōraku are the oldest captains amongst the Gotei 13, with the exception of Retsu Unohana and Yamamoto himself. Jūshirō, due to his illness, rarely played his role as captain on a regular basis, instead having Kaien fill the role under his guidance.

When a hollow possessed Kaien's wife, Miyako Shiba, Jūshirō and Kaien prevented the possessed Miyako from killing Rukia Kuchiki, and then chased her into the forest. The hollow discards her body before they catch up, and Kaien proceeded to battle the hollow alone. Jūshirō stopped Rukia from assisting, explaining that Kaien was fighting for his honor. The hollows abilities ultimately allow it to possess Kaien, and Jūshirō began to fight it, although his illness got in the way and allowed the hollow to attack Rukia. To both Jūshirō and Rukia's horror, Kaien took control and killed himself with Rukia's sword. The 13th Division has never been the same following Kaien's death, being without its well-loved lieutenant and Jūshirō having to rely on Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki, which usually ends in disaster. In the manga, Miyako (whose face was never shown) died along with the rest of her team and her dead body was returned to the thirteenth squad's headquarters; instead of following her possessed body, Kaien, Jūshirō and Rukia found the hollow who killed her by traveling to the place that Miyako was scouting.

Ukitake is first seen in a flashback for Rukia although only half his face is seen, while Ichigo battles Grand Fisher. He is first physically seen when he discovers Aizen's apparent death and then visiting the Shrine of Pertinence, where he stops Byakuya Kuchiki from killing Ganju, and prevents Ganju and Hanatarō Yamada from getting killed for their crimes by locking them up. After hearing of the execution date being moved up, Ukitake decides to help save Rukia and destroys the Sōkyoku along with Shunsui, and the two later have a short battle with Yamamoto. As a thanks for helping save Rukia, Ukitake later gives Ichigo a badge that permits him to legally hunt hollows in his hometown and allows him to transform into his shinigami state at will. Ukitake appears in the Bount invasion of the anime to assist in destroying the remaining Jōkaishō with the help of Ran'Tao. He later makes a reappearance alongside Shūhei Hisagi, discussing Rukia's friendship with Orihime and Shūhei's new job as his division's leader.

Zanpakutō
Despite his illness, Ukitake is one of the strongest of the captains, and he and Shunsui are revealed to have power surpassing previous and current generations.

Sōgyo no Kotowari (Truth of Pisces):
 * Shikai: Its shikai command is "All waves, rise now and become my shield, lightning, strike now and become my blade". In its shikai, Sōgyo no Kotowari splits into two thin blades resembling fishing javelins with a reversed prong-blade on the dull end. The two swords are connected by a cord, which is lined with several small charms.

In The Bleach games "Bleach: Shattered Blades", "Bleach: The Blade of Fate" or "Bleach: Heat The Soul 4", Ukitake's zanpakuto attacks using water and electrical elements.


 * Bankai: Not yet revealed