Soul Society

Subject: Soul Society Wed Sep 02, 2009 3:11 pm

The place where souls go after they die. This world consists of the
Rukongai (Rukon District in the English version), where souls first
live when they arrive in the Soul Society, and the Seireitei (lit.
"Court of Pure Souls"), which is at the center of the Soul Society. The
mode of life here closely resembles that of feudal Japan.

The human world is for the living. Dead souls gather in the Soul
Society. These two worlds are parallel to each other and are two sides
of the same coin. Families separated by death are rarely reunited in
the Soul Society. People live nestled together like a family of
strangers. One never gets hungry (if you don't have spiritual powers)
and aging is slowed to a great extent, with lifespans of 2000 or more
years not being unheard of, though such ages are limited to Shinigami
or other Soul Society dwellers with high spiritual power. Children can
even be born ast they are in the Human World. People can also be killed
as regular humans are, though they are capable of surviving wounds that
would normally be considered fatal. A soul that dies in Soul Society is
reincarnated on Earth as a new human with no past memories

Shinigami come and leave Soul Society by unlocking the Senkaimon using
a Hell Butterfly. Pluses, on the other hand, enter Soul Society through
the ritual of Soul Burial.

Spirits can be born in Soul Society as much as in the living world with the shinigami acting to balance the souls.

Intruders can pass through the Senkaimon in the same manner, but only
in soul form. This allows spiritual beings, such as Ichigo in his
Shinigami form, to enter without permission. Humans can also use such a
gate through the use of Reishihenkanki (霊子変換機; lit. spirit exchangers),
which convert solid matter into Reishi's. While this method uses the
same gate, the lack of a Hell Butterfly forces intruders to pass
through the Dangai, a bordering dimension between the human world and
Soul Society (not to be confused with Hueco Mundo). This is much more
dangerous to do, as souls that cannot pass through before the gate to
Soul Society closes are trapped there forever.

Finally, Hollows can also directly rip a hole to Soul Society from
Hueco Mundo, or in the case of Arrancar, using their ability, Garganta.

When people die they are assigned a number to a part of Soul Society
according to when they died. Spirits can be born in soul society as
much as in the living world with the shinigami acting to balance the
souls

GovernmentSpirit KingSoul Society is ruled by a king though he is
merely a figurehead his existence is undeniable, he commonly leaves the
running of Soul Society to the Central 46 Chambers and Nobles. He lives
with his family in a palace in a separate dimension in the very core of
Soul Society, which is protected by the Royal Guard. The dimension can
only be opened with a tri-pronged golden key fittingly named the Royal
Key (王鍵, ōken). The location of this key is passed down verbally from
one Gotei 13 commander-general to the next, the current holder being
Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai. According to Rangiku Matsumoto, no
Shinigami has ever seen the king.

Royal GuardMain article: Royal Guard
Also known as the Zero
Division, it is made up of former captains of the Gotei 13 who have
been promoted to this level. Only captains of the Gotei 13 know of
their existence. They are said to have considerable power and tactical
knowledge. Only the Royal family presides over them, the Central 46
have no say in them what so ever.

JudiciaryCentral 46 Chambers (中央四十六室, chūō yonjūroku shitsu): The
Central 46 Chambers serve the shinigami royalty (the ruling class of
all Soul Society). They are made up of 40 wise men and 6 judges,
selected from all of Soul Society. They are sealed into an enclave in
Seireitei called Seijōtōkyorin (清浄塔居林) which no one else may enter,
regardless of their military or civilian status. They serve as a
supreme judiciary organization whose authority puts it in direct
control of the legal system. They handle all rulings on Shinigami and
souls who have violated prohibitions. Their orders are absolute and no
decision has been known to be overturned. Shinigami crimes are judged
here, regardless of whether they are committed in the Soul Society or
the world of the living. In the event of a Shinigami's execution, they
even give leave for the Stealth Force or the Gotei 13 to use lethal
force.[5] Their justice is harsh and quick. Only one trial has been
shown in the manga while all other decisions were revealed to be the
manipulations of Aizen. The trial of Kisuke Urahara featured little in
the way of defense on the part of the accused and evidence was gathered
against the Captain secretly. The evidence in this case was held to be
of infinitely more value than the defendants' testimony. The 46 do not
take kindly to protests or out of order statements. They clearly
exhibit tendencies more in line with a military tribunal than a
civilian court.

With their deaths at the hands of Sōsuke Aizen during the Soul Society
arc, General Yamamoto has taken over their normal duties. The only
Shinigami forces which do not answer to the Central 46 Chambers are the
Royal Guard (王属特務, ōzokutokumu; Royal Special Task Force in the English
dubbed version), also called the Zero Division (Squad Zero in English),
and the Shinigami Academy.

Laws It is against the law for a Shinigami to give their spiritual power to Humans.
It is against the law for a Shinigami to use forbidden Kidō.
It is against the law for any citizen of Soul Society to create weapons
of a dangerous nature not sanctioned by the feudal government. To do so
is treason.
It is against the law to attack a captain. To do so is treason.
It is against the law to commit terrorist action or attempt overthrow of the balance of Soul Society. To do so is treason.
It is against the law to commit murder.
It is against the law to kill a human that a Shinigami has not been ordered to kill.
It is forbidden for a Shinigami to acquire Hollow powers.
It is by ancient law that two Shinigami cannot hold the same zanpakutō.
They must fight for the honor of bearing the spirit, with the spirit
going to the winner.
It is against the law for the Gotei 13 to meddle in the affairs of the
noble families unless the family in question breaks one of the laws of
Soul Society beyond a shadow of a doubt.
It is a crime for a Shinigami to remain in the human world longer than
a certain time limit as this is viewed as living a second life.
PunishmentExile: Certain crimes allows for the punishment of exile,
commonly stripping a Shinigami of their powers and banishing them to
the real world.
Detention: A not well known punishment among the citizens of Soul
Society is the detention of high level shinigami. Commonly reserved for
those who have either broken the law or quit the Gotei 13 or those who
just seem dangerous and mentally unstable (as per the governments
interpretation). This is carried out by the Special Forces.
There are several forms of executions in Soul Society, although only two have been revealed:

Spirit-sealing pit: The spirit-sealing pit is an ancient form of
execution in which Shinigami criminals are thrown into a pit walled
with deathstone – a type of stone that absorbs spiritual power,
preventing those nearby from using their powers. Hollows are then
thrown into the pit with the criminals as the means of execution. The
practice was considered too barbaric and discontinued.
Sōkyoku (双): Sōkyoku is a form of execution usually reserved for those
with extremely strong spiritual powers, namely shinigami captains. The
Sōkyoku is a giant halberd that utterly destroys a soul on contact.
When released, Sōkyoku takes on the form of a phoenix, its true form,
called Kikōō.[8] The Kikōō has the destructive power of one million
zanpakutō, and that power is multiplied by a factor of 10 at the moment
it pierces its victim.

Aprovved

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