Gotei 13

* 3rd Division, 4th Division
* 5th Division, 6th Division
* 7th Division, 8th Division
* 9th Division, 10th Division
* 11th Division, 12th Division
* 13th Division
 **Purpose** | Primary Defense/Offense Force of Soul Society

The **Gotei 13** (護廷十三隊, *Goteijūsantai*; ; ; 13 Division Imperial Guards, **13 Court Guard Squads** in the English dub, **13 Court Guard Companies** in the English manga) is the primary military branch of Soul Society and the main military organization most Shinigami join after leaving the academy.

## History

The organization of the Gotei 13 has spanned for a long period of time, since it's initial founding by the former Head Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the Gotei 13 has changed throughout drastically. In it's original inception the Gotei 13 were just a band of thirteen lawless criminals also known as the original thirteen captains, which also consisted of the First Kenpachi, and later on Fourth Divison Captain, Yachiru Unohana. During this time and era, the Gotei 13 were not considered a military force or protectors of the Soul Society. After the extermination of the Quincy, the organization underwent a complete change and switch in duty and purpose, with them transforming into the force of justice that they are today.

In the years of

Ever since The Vanishings, the Gotei 13 was in peril, with the sudden disappearances of all of the soldiers that participated in the Quincy Blood War. The aftermath of this also resulted in a event known as the Eleventh Division Civil War, where in the shambles of the loss of the previous Kenpachi, the members of the Eleventh Division were slaughtering eachother leading to even more casualties and lowering down the number of soldiers. Until the war was then succesfully won by Kenpachi Kiokushi, and her clique, with the help of others. Meanwhile during all of this chaos, the Central 46 appointed the new Head Captain of the Gotei 13, Tsunayoshi Nishikawa and gave him the duty of finding other worthy members to take on the mantle of captain, and with this multiple Shinigami pursued a promotion in what's known as the Soul Revitalization Saga. At the end of this, all of the spots of captain were filled with new life and breath now holding the Gotei 13 in their hands.

## Mission

The Gotei 13 has four customary duties that every soldier is responsible of carrying out.

* Defending and protecting the Seireitei and Soul Society
* Deployment of Task Forces in the Human World
* Deploying members and soldiers into enemy territory for operations in combat.
* Guiding Souls to the Soul Society

## Organization

### Structure

As the title of the organization suggests. the Gotei 13 is split up into thirteen seperate divisions with each individually assigned with their own task and duties. The squads can sometimes work together in conjuction in a situation when they have a common goal or have been called in for a mission by higher ups (i.e Central 46, Captain-Commander.)

The highest command of the Gotei 13, is the Captain-Commander, they have the authority to dish out orders to the rest of the captains and any other soldier of the Gotei 13. Although their influence in Soul Society related affairs significantly pales in comparison to the Central 46.

The most standard positions within the Gotei 13 is much like any army, with there being a ranking system determining the skill and power of a Shinigami. With the highest attainable position right after the Captain-Commander being the Captains, individuals who have the authority to command and take control over their squads. Secondly, there's the Lieutenants, the right-hands to a Captain, who sometimes aren't too far off in power from a captain themself, with a handful of Lieutenants being able to match some of the weaker captains in battle, they have a lot of influence in their divisions, and usually substitute for the Captain if the Captain is absent. The rest of the ranks are titled **Seated Officers**, with the seats ranging from Third, the highest, to 20, the lowest achievable rank with the rest of the members outside of the twenty being marked as just "Unseated" officers.

### Captain's Council

Captains of the Gotei 13, assemble for meetings within a hall known as the **"Captain's Quarters"** that's located inside of the barracks of the First Division. The meetings always take place in order to discuss many important events going on inside of the Seireitei, and issues concerning the Gotei 13. Any captain has the right to voice their opinion in the council, and there's no bias towards the complaints and thoughts. All of the captains can vote for a conclusion to events, with the Captain-Commander in the end being the one to decide wheter to agree with the captains or decline their requests.

* **Captain-Commander** (総隊長, *Sōtaichō*; *Viz* "Captain-General"; Captain-Commander, Head-Captain in the English dub): The Captain-Commander is a individual with utmost control of the Gotei 13, being the overseer of the First Division, and the rest of the thirteen squads. The Captain-Commander also has the authority of supervising branches of the Gotei 13 such as the Onmitsukidō aswell as the Kidō Corps. The only people who the Captain-Commander must have to obey the direct orders of are the Central 46.
* **Captain** (隊長, *Taichō*; *lit.* Unit Commander): Are leaders of a unit in the thirteen court guard squads, and have the authority to act out decisions within their squad.

### Lieutenant

* **Lieutenant** (副隊長, *fukutaichō*; *Viz* "Assistant Captain"; vice-unit commander, often translated as vice-captain): Is a individual who is the second-highest authority in a division of the Gotei 13, being the ones that usually help out the captain and obey their orders. They have the authority to command other lower-ranked officers in their division.

## Transferring to Another Division

Being transferred into another Division of the Gotei 13, is something that happens regularly, particurlaly due in choice from individuals with higher authority, who deem it to be better for one to join another division, or if a division is suffering from vacancy, and need transferred recruits to fill up their positions.

## Size and Recruitment

Every single division in the Gotei 13 on average, has 200+ members, after the Vanishings, the number of soldiers decreased, but have since been restored accordingly. The rough amount of Shinigami all banded together in the Gotei 13 as a whole as approximately 3000+. In order to be recruited into the Gotei 13, prospects must have to first go through years of training in the Shin'ō Academy and graduate the academy. After graduating it's required of a Shinigami to take a entrance exam test before being enlisted into the Gotei 13. Depending on the scores of the graduate, they're assigned their seat, determined by their performance in the academy and test. They also choose what squad they want to join in, receiving a list of the duties of each squad. Individuals from Noble Families, are also more likely to get into the Gotei 13 with their own training methods that me be exclusive by their family.

## Insignia

The Gotei 13's insignia is rhombus-shaped on the side of it's head. with four black triangles filling the corners and edges of it.

Each individual squad has their own Insignia usually signifying a concept that is ingrained in the very nature of the division. These symbols are branded on the back of the haori of the Captains, and are usually the logo placed on top of division barracks. You could also see the insignia of squads printed on some other Shinigami namely the Lieutenants who don a badge on their shoulder with the insignia of their squad on it. Power limits also have the insignia of a captain or lieutenant's squad that they're apart of it.

## Uniforms

The uniforms of the Shinigami in the **Gotei 13** are fairly standard, allowing for them to access their Zanpakuto and weapons easily, and making fast mobility and travel easier with how light the clothes are. The uniform consists of a ***Shihakusho*** (lit. "Garment of Dead Souls"), a type of black robe that could also sometimes be customized but is required by every soldier of the Gotei 13 to wear. The Shihakusho itself is made up of various different components these being the following, a white obi wrapped around the waist of a Shinigami, which may differ in color depending on the user, these are also oftenly used by some to hold their Zanpakuto. Next is a white Shitagi worn under the garments of the Soul Reapers serving as an extra layer of clothing beneath the black Kosode, a short-sleeved garment, and the Hakama the lower pants of the Shinigami. And as for the footwear of the Shinigami there's the Tabi, white socks worn by nearly all Shinigami, and a pair of Waraji that could also be substitued for other forms of shoes or sandals. As in the case of Kihana Mine, and Kenpachi Kiokushi

While most Shinigami wear the standardized uniform required of them by the higher ups. Some higher ranker soliders, such as the Captains and Lieutenants have some variables in their uniforms that distinguish them from the other officers. For example, the Lieutenants of the Gotei 13 usually wear a bronze armband badge on their shoulder in the shape of a flat rectangular triangle that has their squad's insignia emblazoned on top of it and usually the divison color on the back of it. And the Captains wear a long white haori with the symbol of the squad they captain right on the back of it. The founder of the Gotei 13, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto in one scene, mentioned the signifance of the Haori to be a representation of the elegance and power of the position of Captain, the second highest achievable rank second only to the Head Captain.

### Uniform Customization

Some individuals with the authority, have chosen the option to customize their outfit, adding little perks to spice them up and showcase a little bit more personality. The list below contains a number of changes to the uniform made by certain members:

* Lieutenant of the First Division, Kihana Mine chooses to wear a sleeveless uniform without much clothing, and her outft features Okobo, instead of the typical Shinigmi waraji.
* Lieutenant Kagami Kuchiki of the Fifth Division wears the family heirloom of the Kuchiki Clan, a white scarf titled the G*inpaku Kazahana no Uzuginu* (銀白風花の紗, *Silks of the Silverwhite Wildflower*). He also dons the traditional kenseikan signifying his noble blood and heritage.
* Captain of the Gotei 13's Third Division, Minamoto Kuchiki chooses to wear a captain Haori that is specially tailored with rare fabric, and has been split down into two different patterns and colors, with the right one being completely blood red, and the left one being green and having patterns of lines and other shapes running down.
* Seventh Division Captain Takamaru Yasuhira's outfit looks more like a downright martial artist moreso than a Shinigami, with him choosing to rock a sleeveless Haori with the division's symbol still emblazoned and his body covered in countless bandages and wraps.
* Co-Lieutenant of the Seventh Division, Geinchiro Sakai's look takes a following to his captain's with his uniform also being sleeveless and him showcasing a multitude of wraps around his body.
* Third Seat of the Seventh Division, Hakyō wears a helmet mask made out of straw with four holes on it, for him to view outside. His outfit also differentiates from the average Shinigami, with him wearing a Haori of brown color and having yellow star and dot crossing patterns alongside it.
* Ninth Division's beastly-looking captain Akaoni Ouga, is another bearer of the mask with him wearing a white mask supposed to resemble a Hollow that he's seeking to get revenge on. The mask seems to have no peepholes for the eyes, horns, and carvings leaving him to look like he's always grinning. The mask is heavily reminiscent of the Mengu mask worn by Japanese samurai. And he chooses to not wear any under garments beneath his Captain Haori with a red tie on his neck, and instead of a white Obi, Akaoni wears multiple belts around his waist, coupled with pants that are akin to those of normality in the World of the Living.
* Kahoru Ikumi, the captain of the Fourth Division's seems to be completely cladded in white in contrast to the Shinigami's usually black outfits.
* The lieutenant of the Second Division, Xiǎng-Fēng modified his costume a bit, fitting of someone apart of the Fēng clan with him choosing to wear earrings and other objects, as a hint of noble lineage.
* Second Division captain Kamui Shihōin wears a pair of gloves in the same hue of his division's color.
* Yuichi Yamakage, the lieutenant of the Sixth Division and Head of the Yamakage Clan, chooses to hide his lieutenant badge underneath his clothing, and wears a pair of Tekko on his arms.
* Aya Jūsuke's uniform has red obi with a golden ring, opposed to the traditional white, and she's wearing high heels.
* Tenth Division lieutenant Ryujin Suiiki wears a kitsune mask on top of his head and sometimes puts it on his face, his shikahakusho is also something that varies from the original uniform.
* Tenth Division captain Togashi Hiramochi chooses to wear just a single half of his Kosode.
* Yoshino Jūsuke, the Twelfth Division's lieutenant dons a lab coat.
* Third Seat of the Thirteenth Division, Yamato Takeru, deviates from the standard Shinigami with him wearing a red and white kimono, and multiple other customizations.
* Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Saeko Ichihara's attire is way more revealing than the average, with her choosing to show her sleeves, and thighs. And her wearing leggings with bandages and her clothing being a dress.
* Captain of the Thirteenth, Touwa Kashiwaeda, wears a maroon obi.
* Eleventh Division Captain, Kenpachi Kiokushi

## References

1. ↑ DISCUSSING DEATH: Tsunayoshi holds up four fingers and refers to the duties that each individual shinigami is commanded to execute.