Kaname Tōsen

Arville Cole
Bleach character
File:TosenAnimeEp44.jpg Kaname Tōsen by Tite Kubo
Created by	Tite Kubo
In-universe information
Species	Soul Reaper
Gender	Male
Title	Commanding officer in Sōsuke Aizen's army Captain of the 9th Division (former)
Occupation	Soul Reaper (former)

Kaname Tōsen (東仙 要, Tōsen Kaname) is a fictional character and major antagonist in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. He is originally captain of the 9th Division of the Gotei 13, but leaves Soul Society to pursue other goals as the series progresses. His lieutenant and acting replacement is Shūhei Hisagi. He ranked 25th in the most recent Shonen Jump poll.

Character outline

Tōsen has dark skin and dark brown hair (purple in the beginning of the anime). His eyes are solid white, lacking pupils or irises. He wears the traditional Soul Reaper uniform with the sleeves rolled up to the shoulder and his captain's haori over it; the uniform is tied with a purple obi sash. He also wears an orange scarf around his neck, white boots, and black, fingerless gloves. He has been blind since birth. He usually wears a clear visor, although this was not always the case.

Tōsen's creed in life is to "take the path with the least bloodshed". It was for this reason that he felt it necessary to follow Sōsuke Aizen. Tōsen, along with Gin Ichimaru were identified by Kenpachi Zaraki as being the only captains afraid of death.

Tōsen, like Aizen and Gin, has changed his outfit after defecting from Soul Society. He now wears clothing similar to the arrancar along with longer gloves, a thin visor in place of his goggles, and his hair in what appears to be shoulder length dreadlocks.

Tōsen also has several unique relationships with the arrancar. Tōsen thinks of Grimmjow Jeagerjaques in the same matter as Kenpachi Zaraki; a killing machine that will cause only more bloodshed in the world. Wonderweiss Margera seems to have an attachment towards him. Tōsen explains that this is because they are both pure spirits, and that pure spirits tend to attract and follow each other. He appears to get along well enough with Gin, but is wary of him in the same way other captains were back in Soul Society.

History

File:NewAizenGinTosenAnime.jpg

Tōsen, in his new clothing, alongside Aizen and Gin.

In his youth, Tōsen maintained a fond friendship with a girl who talked constantly of "ridding the clouds from the starry skies", meaning to remove evil from the world. She expressed a strong belief in the ideal of justice and Tōsen idolized her for it. Her dream was to become a Soul Reaper and use her powers to maintain a peaceful world. She was soon accepted by the Academy; however, her husband killed her because she scolded him for killing a comrade over a petty argument. Tōsen's own sense of justice was thrown into doubt by her death, since he could not understand why someone who believed so strongly in justice could die so quickly and meaninglessly. Taking her zanpakutō from her grave, Tōsen determined if simply believing in justice wasn't enough, he would gain strength and become justice. He vowed that he would fight for justice without unnecessary bloodshed from then on. Shortly after, Tōsen joined the Soul Reapers.

Tōsen met Sajin Komamura while he was still in the Soul Reaper academy. They took to each other quickly, because at that point Komamura was ashamed of his fox head and Tōsen could not see it. Komamura joined the Soul Reapers and they became close friends and eventually captains in the Gotei 13, though the exact details aren't known. Before becoming a captain, it was known that Tōsen was in the 5th Division as well as the 9th division under Kensei Muguruma. When Aizen was still the lieutenant of the 5th Division, Tōsen was already on good terms with him.

In the Turn Back the Pendulum miniseries, set a century before the main storyline, Tōsen was part of the 9th division under captain Kensei Muguruma. Even at this point, he was Aizen's subordinate, as he betrayed the 9th division by killing the seated members and stabbing Kensei from the back, also helping to subdue the team sent to stop Kensei and Mashiro after they transformed into hollows. He is seen striking Love and others in the back before Aizen appears declaring it was under his orders that he did it.

In addition, since Kenpachi Zaraki entered Seireitei and killed the former captain of the 11th Division, Tōsen has seen Kenpachi as a monster who served no purpose but to create chaos and would eventually break the tenuous peace of Soul Society.

Synopsis

Tōsen first appears at the Soul Reaper captains meeting. After Ichimaru Gin lacks of killing Ichigo around episode 23, he laments the fact that blood has been spilled and that more violence will be needed to stop the intruder attack. When Uryū Ishida reaches the top of the stairs to the Shrine of Penitence, Tōsen uses his shikai to disable Ishida. Tōsen, alongside Sajin Komamura, confront Kenpachi Zaraki over his decision to help the intruders. Tōsen uses his bankai against Kenpachi, though Kenpachi manages to overpower him. Tōsen was injured badly, but before Kenpachi could finish him off, Komamura intervenes, saving Tōsen, but breaking his helmet in the process. Tōsen, after getting healed, teleports Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki to Aizen once he is revealed to be a traitor, and watches the several attempts to stop Aizen. Tōsen leaves with Aizen and Gin, and tells Komamura that he is walking the path of justice still, as he finds this is the best way of ending the world's bloodshed. Tōsen is also the one to punish Grimmjow Jeagerjaques following him breaking orders as he views Grimmjow to be very similar to Kenpachi Zaraki. He later appears with Aizen and Ichimaru to destroy Karakura Town. As of Chapter 316, Tosen is trapped in Yamamoto's fire prison and is unable to fight

Suzumushi

File:Enma korou.JPG

Kaname Tōsen's bankai

The name of Tōsen's zanpakutō is Suzumushi (清虫, literally "pure insect", but read as "cricket"; translated in the English manga as "bell bug"). In its sealed form, Suzumushi looks like a regular katana. Its crossguard is shaped like a tear drop, and at the wide part of the teardrop are several teardrop-shaped holes. Hanging off the tear's tip is a small ring. Unlike most zanpakutō, Suzumushi has two shikai commands, each producing a unique automatic effect. Additionally, he is unique in that his zanpakutō was not originally his; it belonged to the unnamed friend who set him on his path.

Suzumushi's regular release command is "Cry" (鳴け, nake), which has the automatic effect of projecting a high-pitched tone over a wide area, overloading the hearing of anyone in range and knocking them unconscious. (This comparatively humane and painless technique fits with Tōsen's self-presentation as a proponent of justice.)

Suzumushi's second release command is "smash his limbs" (四肢を潰すよ, shishi o tsubusu yo), which changes Suzumushi into its Benihikō (紅飛蝗, literally "crimson grasshopper") form. Suzumushi vibrates momentarily and, after Tōsen moves the blade around him in a circle, a trail appears from the sword's path. The trail turns into hundreds of blades that rain down on his opponents.

Suzumushi's bankai, named Enma Kōrogi (閻魔蟋蟀, named for a type of field cricket, the Japanese name for which translates to "Enma cricket") creates a large, black dome centered at Tōsen's location and anchored to the ground with ten rings. Anyone within the dome loses the ability to sense anything around them, what Tōsen calls "ignorance" (無明, mumyō) which in the anime is represented by the characters under its effect being in black and white, while anyone currently in the dome but not suffering Suzumushi's effect being in color. The only sense they retain is that of touch. The weakness of this technique is that which makes Tōsen immune to it: Suzumushi itself. Anything touching Suzumushi's hilt is immune to the dome's effects, so anyone able to grab Suzumushi recovers their senses as was shown in his fight with Kenpachi Zaraki.