The shonen anime Bleach began in the 2000s following the success of the manga by Tite Kubo and quickly became one of the most popular anime within the genre. Considered by many shonen fans to be one of the “Big Three” series alongside Naruto and One Piece, Bleach continues to captivate viewers even after the initial anime’s run is long finished. Now with the new series Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, both new and seasoned fans have even more Bleach to enjoy.
A big part of Bleach‘s success is the fleshed-out world Kubo created and the diverse characters that exist within it. As protagonist Ichigo Kurasaki becomes more involved in the Soul Society after inheriting Soul Reaper powers, we find there’s even more to learn about this unseen world. Soul Society is filled with Soul Reapers with immense strength, like the Gotei 13, Soul Society’s military force. The Gotei 13 captains are the most capable of these skilled warriors and hone their skills for centuries in order to captain their respective squads, despite how young they may seem.
While the majority of Soul Reapers appear to be young adults, they are much more long-lived than humans and some of the Gotei 13 captains have lived for over thousands of years. Bleach doesn’t generally delve into the exact ages of these characters (and it’s probably rude to ask), but we did our best to estimate exactly how old the original and current captains of the Gotei 13 are based on their skills and character histories. As a precaution against spoilers, we won’t be confirming which captains are still alive in the series.
Here are the ages of the 13 squad captains, as well as how old they appear.
Captain-Commander/Division 1: Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto
Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto not only looks old, he is ancient. As the leader of Soul Society, he founded the Soul Academy some 2000 years before the events of the manga, making him anywhere between 2100 and 3000 years old. Luckily, he looks a much more spry 70 or 80 years old.
Division Two: Sui-Feng
The captain of Division Two and head of the Soul Society’s Stealth Force is approximately 200 to 300 years old (she’s said to be roughly the same age as fellow Gotei 13 captain Byakuya). Despite her age, Sui-Feng looks to only be in her late 20s or early 30s.
Division Three: Gin Ichimaru
The first caption of Division Three we meet is Gin Ichimaru. Ichimaru is assumed to be at least 100 years old (which is pretty young for Soul Reaper standards) but appears to be in his early 20s.
Division Three: Rojuro Otoribashi
Rojuro, also known as Rose, is the current captain of Squad Three. While he’s surely skilled enough to be a Captain, he prefers to stay away from the battlefield. He is an estimated 300 to 350 years old and looks to be in his early 30s.
Division Four: Retsu Unohana
When we’re first introduced to Retsu Unohana, she is the captain of Division Four. Respected for her healing abilities and fighting skills, Unohana is one of the founding members of the Gotei 13. As you would expect, this makes her quite old and we would estimate Unohana to be at least 1000 years old. Despite this, she looks to be rather ageless but we’d guess she was in her 30s (or maybe a very young-looking 40).
Division Four: Isane Kotetsu
The current captain of Division Four is Isane Kotetsu, a strong healer under Unohana’s tutelage. Isane is relatively young by Soul Reaper standards and is around 200 years old, although she appears to be in her 20s.
Division Five: Sosuke Aizen
The original Captain of Gotei 13’s Fifth Division is Sosuke Aizen. It’s mentioned that Aizen has reportedly been a Soul Reaper for several hundred years, so we estimate him to be at least 300 years old even though he looks to be in his late 20s to early 30s.
Division Five: Shinji Hirako
The current caption of Division Five is Shinji Hirako. While his age is never directly stated (like most of the Captains on this list), Shinji is probably around 300 years old but looks to be in his mid-20s.
Division Six: Byakuya Kuchiki
The Sixth Division Captain is Byakuya Kuchiki. Byakuya comes from a prominent family of Soul Reapers and is the current head of his clan. Despite holding so much responsibility, Byakuya is likely only between 200 and 300 years old. The fan-favorite Byakuya looks to be in his mid to late 20s.
Division Seven: Sajin Komamura
Sajin Komamura is the former captain of Division Seven and originally hid most of his body behind armor as he was shy about being an anthropomorphic wolf. Eventually, he became more comfortable with his appearance and revealed his true form. Not much is known about the captain, but we estimate him to be around 100 years old. It’s hard to gauge how old he looks but given his mannerisms, we’re going guess in his early 20s.
Division Seven: Tetsuzaemon Iba
The current captain of Division Seven is Tetsuzaemon Iba. Although he enjoys fighting, he’s a relatively good-natured and reserved Soul Reaper and is likely between 150 and 200 years old. There doesn’t seem to be any explanation for how Soul Reapers’ appearances change as they age and while some 200-year-old Soul Reapers look to be in their late teens, Iba appears to be in his late 30s. Maybe in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War we’ll find out how aging works in Soul Society.
Division Eight: Shunsui Kyoraku
The former captain of Division Eight is Shunsui Kyoraku. Kyoraku is not only one of the strongest Soul Reapers, he is also one of the oldest as he was one of the first graduates of Soul Academy to become a Gotei 13 captain. This puts him at around 2000 years old, but he could possibly be even older. He is now the current Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13.
Division Eight: Lisa Yadomaru
The current captain of Division Eight is Lisa Yadomaru. Although she appears apathetic in most situations, she has proved herself to be skilled at battle and is likely around 300 years old. Yadomaru frequently wears a school uniform but appears to be in her mid to late 20s.
Division Nine: Kaname Tosen
The former captain of the Ninth Division is Kaname Tosen. Tosen was once best friends with Sajin Komamura but is likely a little older than him; we estimate him to be between 200 and 300 years old. Looking at Tosen, you would think he was in his 20s.
Division Nine: Kensei Muguruma
The current captain of Division Nine is Kensei Muguruma, a Soul Reaper who prefers to fight his battles close combat. Mugurama has had plenty of time to perfect his battle techniques at an estimated 300 years old but only looks to be in his 20s.
Division 10: Toshiro Hitsugaya
The so-called child prodigy Toshiro Hitsugaya is the captaion of Division 10. While he looks to be about 12 years old, he is likely between the ages of 100 and 200. This would make Toshiro roughly the same age as his fellow captain Tetsuzaemon Iba. We’re still not sure how aging works for Soul Reapers, but Toshiro has more than earned his spot as one of the strongest captains in the Gotei 13.
Division 11: Kenpachi Zaraki
The current captain of the 11th division is Kenpachi Zaraki, an extremely strong Soul Reaper who loves the thrill of battle, even going as far as to harm himself in order to make fights last longer. Kenpachi is one of the oldest captains and is thought to be over 1000 years old — it’s honestly impressive to see someone this long-lived have such a zest for life. He looks to be in his 30s.
Division 12: Mayuri Kurotsuchi
The captain of Divsion 12 is none other than Mayuri Kurotsuchi, president of the Soul Reaper Research Institute. Mayuri has an inquisitive mind and is constantly pursuing more knowledge. This curiosity extends to the battlefield, and while Mayuri isn’t keen on fighiting he is known to frequently utilize his deadly experiments against his enemies. We estimate him to be about 200 but he appears to be somewhere in his 20s or 30s.
Division 13: Jushiro Ukitake
The former captain of the 13th division, Jushiro Ukitake is a level-headed Soul Reaper who was trained by Captain-Commander Yamamoto. Jushiro has an incurable illness that often keeps him away from the battlefield but is thought to be one of the oldest captains at over 1000 years of age. Although he’s lived such a long life, Jushiro appears to be somewhere in his 30s or 40s.
Division 13: Rukia Kuchiki
The current captain of Division 13 is none other than Rukia Kuchiki. When Rukia first meets Ichigo, she tells him she’s 10 times his age. Ichigo was 15 years old when he first met Rukia, so Rukia would be 150 years old if she’s not exaggerating for dramatic effect. Some Bleach fans believe Rukia to be one of the youngest Soul Reapers at around 60 or 70 years old, but there’s been no clarification on her age in the series.
