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Shinigami are the deceased souls of humans that have gained supernatural abilities. They are made of ectoplasm (霊子, reishi) and can only be seen by other spiritual beings. They do seem to have an ability to interact with their environment even if the majority of living cannot see them. They are also able to die if injured severely enough, though they need to be substantially more wounded than a human would to die. Shinigami are even able to produce children the same way the living would.

Uniform (死覇装 shihakushō , lit. garment of dead souls)

The traditional uniform of a shinigami consists of a white kosode (short sleeved), a black, short kimono, black hakama and a white obi sash. Though kosode are normally longer they can he rolled or folded up so not to catch awkwardly in the hakama. The hakama are divided and look like a wide pair of pants with pleating, a koshiita (a stiff or padded part in the lower back of the wearer), and himo (long lengths of fabric tied around the waist over the obi). Captains additionally wear a haori, a type of long white coat that displays the squad number on the back, that may or may not have sleeves. Lieutenants also have badges that normally are marked to show their division symbol and seat number. Most often it is worn on the left arm and is required to be worn during meetings. Many captains and vice-captains are seen to personalize their appearance.

Gotei 13 (護廷十三隊,Goteijūsantai, "13 Division Imperial Guards", or "13 Court Guard Squads")

Shinigami are primarily divided up among the Goteijūsantai, or Gotei 13 for short. The Gotei 13 are the primary means of defense for Soul Society and each squad normally has a specialized function. There are other groups outside the Gotei 13 that protect and serve which include three other recognized groups. The Kidō Corps (鬼道衆, kidōshū) is a reclusive group that specializes in kidō and is left in charge of the gateway connecting Soul Society to the human world. Onmitsukidō (隠密機動,The Stealth Forces, literally "hidden secret movements organization"), typically led by the captain of the 2nd Division, are tasked with surveillance, covert operations, and imprisoning potentially problematic Soul Reapers. The Zero Division, a secret group composed only of former captains, protects the royal family.

Squad 1: Reinforcements & Strategic battle
Squad 2: Reconnaissance & Spec. Ops.
Squad 3: Seireitei Guardian & Ranged Combatant
Squad 4: Medical & Healing
Squad 5: Data Recording & Kido Mastery
Squad 6: Law Enforcements & Elemental Mastery
Squad 7: Rukongai & Zanjutsu Mastery
Squad 8: Psychological Treatment & Well-Balanced
Squad 9: Defensive Line & Status Effect
Squad 10: Investigation & Espionage
Squad 11: Offensive Line & Heavy Combatant
Squad 12: Science Research & Technologies Development
Squad 13: Anti-Hollow & Supply

Zanpakutou (斬魄刀, zanpakutō lit. soul-cutting sword)

Zanapkutou are a manifestation of a Shinigami's power and are essentially a piece of the individual's soul. This makes each and ever zanpakutou unique to it's user and exact duplication is impossible. It is possible to "upgrade" the blade after a shinigami has been able to speak to the spirit contained within the zanapkutou. Before they are able to communicate with the spirit ,however, a zanpakutou will take the form of a plain, simple katana that is considered name less and called as asauchi, meaning "shallow cut." Zanpakutou cannot be replaced and when damaged they will repair slowly over time. Calling out the shikai state of the blade will restore it instantly however.

Wielding a zanpakutou is an easy matter for the true owner of the blade but it is possible for someone else to use another's zanpakutou. It is significantly more difficult since anyone trying to use a weapon not there own like zanpakutou needs to make the spirit within it bow to command by force.

Shikai (始解, shikai, initial release)

The first "upgrade" that a zanpakutou goes through. To achieve shikai a shinigami must learn the name of the spirit within the weapon. A name cannot be chosen as the spirit already has a name of it's own and will not respond to any other. Shikai also marks a small amount of control put over the spirit by the wielder and often the zanpakutou will undergo a transformation that allows it to alter to greater show some of the spirit. It also seems that the spirits have personalities, often that are similar in nature to the whom they belong to.

To release a shikai often a command must be issued followed by the zanpakutou's name. Most often it is a single verb but may be a short poem instead. Most often the command will relate to its abilities in some manner. In some cases once released the zanpakutou will remain in it's shikai state instead of returning to its sealed asauchi state.

The form of a zanpakutou's shikai also will likely reflect the abilities it can use. Again a command is most often issued along with the name of an attack to unleash any of these special abilities. Also knowing the name of an attack drastically increases it's power.

Bankai (卍解, final release)

The ultimate and final form of a zanpakutou. Often the name of the spirit will lengthen or in some cases be altered completely in this state. Generally bankai are known to take large forms and is a manifestation of the inner spirit of the zanpakutou itself. Unlike shikai, bankai does not have a trigger command though often the shinigami must state "bankai" to release this final form.

Achieving bankai takes centuries of experience and additionally it is said another ten years to master it. The reason for the difficulty is because a shinigami must force the spirit of the zanpakutou to form in the real world, a technique called subjugation. In the series Byakuya Kuchiki claims that even among the four noble houses in Soul Society only one in several generations will be able to achieve bankai. It is a rarity because it takes such a great amount of time and experience and seems to be almost exclusive to the captains of the Gotei 13. A few non captains have gained this skill but they are very few.

Kisuke Urahara did create Tenshintai (転神体, lit. change [death] god body) a device that forces a zanpakutou's spirit to manifest itself. The spirit will manifest for one day after the doll like device is punctured by the blade. However, this method is very dangerous and the process may only be repeated for three days, after which even Urahara stated it would be potentially deadly if continued. Thus using the Tenshintai was determined to have a minimum and maximum use of three days.