Byakuya Kuchiki

Byakuya Kuchiki (朽木 白哉, Kuchiki Byakuya) is a character in the anime and manga series Bleach. He is the captain of the 6th Division in the Gotei 13. His lieutenant is Renji Abarai.

Character outline

Byakuya Kuchiki is the 28th head of the noble Kuchiki clan, one of the four noble families in Soul Society. As such, Byakuya acts in an aristocratic manner - always being serene and apathetic about other people. Byakuya is possibly the strongest person in his clan's history. He claims that life in general isn't supposed to be entertaining, and even made up an idea for a game that wasn't meant to be amusing.

He wears the standard captain uniform along with a white headpiece called a kenseikan (symbolizing his noble rank as the head of the Kuchiki family) and a white scarf made by the master weaver, Tsujishirō Kuroemon III. The scarf is called ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu (lit. silver-white windflower light silk), and is a family heirloom handed down through the generations to the head of the Kuchiki family. Ten large houses can be built from the cost of just one of these.

History

Little is known about Byakuya's early history, except that his senpai was Jūshirō Ukitake, and he often played shunpo tag with Yoruichi Shihouin, presumably to train, though he never was able to beat her.

Byakuya married Hisana (緋真), who was then a commoner; therefore, he broke the rules by accepting her into the family. Hisana died about 50 years before the main Bleach storyline, and her last wish was for Byakuya to find and adopt her sister, Rukia, as his own sister and to protect her. She also made him promise that he would not tell Rukia about her real family.

One year later, Rukia entered the shinigami academy and was accepted into the Kuchiki clan immediately. By adopting her, Byakuya had broken the rules again. He later swore upon his parents' graves that he would never break the rules again, no matter what. As a result, we discover he, though entirely apathetic on the surface, is actually deeply conflicted with the matter of Rukia's execution: he cannot intervene as it would require breaking the rules again or otherwise fail to fufill the promise he made to Hisana to protect Rukia as his own sister.

While it is not clear, it is implied that Byakuya Kuchiki became captain of the 6th division less than 50 years before the main Bleach storyline (shortly before Rukia had entered the Gotei 13). Gin Ichimaru became captain of the 3rd division at the same time.

Senbonzakura

File:Senbonzakura.jpg

Senbonzakura's initial release.

Senbonzakura (千本桜, lit. thousands of cherry blossoms) is Byakuya Kuchiki's zanpakutō. Its initial release is triggered by the phrase, "Chire (scatter!), Senbonzakura." At this point the blade dissolves and scatters into hundreds of tiny blades that look like cherry blossoms because of the way the light shines on them. These petals can pierce the opponent, heavily wounding and incapacitating them completely with the elegant sight.

Byakuya's bankai is called Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (千本桜景厳, lit. vibrant display of 1000 cherry blossoms), which in its initial state is merely an amplified version of the shikai form. Byakuya drops his sword to the ground where it sinks, two rows of giant blades then rising up from the ground behind him. These then scatter into blades, drastically higher in number than in shikai, all controlled by Byakuya.

As such, the petals can form into different streams, for offensive and defensive formations - i.e. they are able to pierce an opponent like a spear, but also create a shield around Byakuya. Byakuya is able to increase the petals' movement speed two-fold by controlling the flow of these streams with his hands.

The bankai has a second form called Senkei Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (殲景, senkei - scene of a massacre). Senkei unites the scattered petals into complete swords that form four rows around Byakuya and his opponent. The swords do not have to attack all at once; Byakuya can call single blades down and into his hands one by one as needed. However, he can use all the blades at once in one immensely powerful strike. This form dramatically increases attacking power at the cost of defense. It does not affect Byakuya's speed.

Senbonzakura's final form, called shūkei (終景, lit. final scene), is reserved for when Byakuya is too tired to fight with his bankai. It compresses all of the swords into a single blade, further enhancing his power. It is called hakuteiken (白帝剣, lit. white imperial sword). In this form, Byakuya grows pure white wings and a halo-like circle in the back, made of spiritual power. In the anime, dragon-like beings sprout out of Senbonzakura to create the wings.

Trivia

• Bleach creator Tite Kubo assigned several characters theme songs which are used to give insight to characters that might not normally appear in the run of the manga or anime. Byakuya's theme is: Je Chante Pour Passer le Temps, by Giovanni Mirabassi.
• He likes Chinese bellflowers (桔梗 kikyō), nighttime walks, and spicy food.