Genryusai Yamamoto

Head Captain of the Gotei 13 and wielder of the fire zanpakutō Ryūjin Jakka.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto is the captain of Squad One and Head Captain of the Gotei Thirteen in Tite Kubo's Bleach. He holds that the law must be upheld for the good of the community and scorns those who break it, though he makes an exception for Ichigo Kurosaki after Ichigo saves Soul Society.

Quick Facts

Division: Squad 1
Rank: Head Captain
Zanpakutō: Ryūjin Jakka
Bankai: Zanka no Tachi
Japanese voice: Masaaki Tsukada; Binbin Takaoka (Thousand-Year Blood War)
English voice: Neil Kaplan

Lore & Background

A thousand years before the main story Yamamoto founded the Soul Reaper Academy, where he taught Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake himself and treated them like sons. He claimed that no Soul Reaper born in the past thousand years was stronger than he was.

Reader's Guide

His zanpakutō, Ryūjin Jakka, controls flame and is the most powerful in Soul Society; its flames can reduce almost anything to nothing. Its bankai, Zanka no Tachi, gathers all of his fire onto the edge of the blade, which then looks like an ancient scorched sword. Its heat is said to reach 15,000,000 degrees, drains Soul Society of moisture and, left active too long, could destroy Soul Society and Yamamoto himself.

During the Thousand-Year Blood War Yamamoto is killed by Yhwach, who steals his bankai. A millennium earlier it had been Yamamoto who defeated Yhwach.