Bleach: Who Was Masaki Kurosaki?

Key things

• Masaki Kurosaki was a Quincy who lost her powers to protect Ichigo from the Grand Fisher.
• Masaki's heritage and marriage to Isshin reveal key plot points in Bleach.
• Isshin saved Masaki's life by linking his soul with hers, costing him his shinigami powers.

Little was known about Masaki Kurosaki in the beginning Bleach. Her death was previously believed to be an accident. However, the truth of her heritage was revealed during the Millennium Blood War.

Masaki has always been the center of attention in the Kurosaki family. However, her legacy contained the answer to Ichigo's power and information about Aizen's plans. But who was Masaki and how does her heritage affect Ichigo?

Who was Masaki Kurosaki?

All her family members loved Masaki and she was the glue that held them together

Kurosaki Masaki was the wife of Isshin Kurosaki, formerly Isshin Shiba. She was also the mother of three children: a boy, Ichigo, and two twins, Yuzu and Karin. When we first learn about Masaki in the beginning Bleachwe see that she is a cheerful and loving mother, and the Kurosaki family has always been centered around her.

Masaki was also a pureblood Quincy Echt. The Quincy are a race of spiritual people who all inherited their Quincy powers from Yhwach, the Quincy King. However, the Quincy were a dying race as many of them were exterminated by Soul Society over 200 years ago. While Soul Society's main goal was to maintain the balance of the world and prevent it from collapsing, Quincy's purpose was to hunt down and destroy all Hollows, leading to the collapse of the world.

At the beginning of the series, Masaki's heritage was unknown and he was believed to be a normal human. Unfortunately, in Chapter 19, Memories in the Rain, we learn of Masaki's death during a flashback of Ichigo at age 9. During the chapter we learn that Ichigo can always see ghosts and hollows, even from a young age. This ability is probably due to his mother being a Quincy and his father being a Shinigami.

With the ability to see ghosts, Ichigo could not tell the difference between the living and the dead at the age of 9. Just like Ichigo's personality in the present, Ichigo, as a child, also had a good heart. Because of this, when Ichigo saw a young girl outside in the rain, he ran to her to stop her from jumping into the river.

Unfortunately, Ichigo didn't listen to his mother's pleas for him to stop; when he awoke, she died protecting him from the Hollow Grand Fisher. Ichigo believed this for many years before learning the truth about his heritage. At this time, Ichigo thought he was responsible for his mother's death; however, this was not the case.

In chapter 537, it was revealed that Yhwach started the Auswahlen, or Holy Selection, on June 17th. During this selection, Yhwach stole the powers of the Mixed Blood or Gemischt Quincy to regain his own power. Due to the Auswahlen, Masaki lost her Quincy powers and thus lost her life while protecting Ichigo from the Grand Fisher.

How did Masaki meet Isshin, the Shinigami?

Masaki was an exceptional Quincy and her good nature led to a chance meeting

As mentioned, Masaki was an Echt and a purebred Quincy. However, she was also the last remaining member of the Kurosaki family. Because of this, Masaki lived with the Ishida family, where she was protected as a pureblood Quincy. The Ishida family also had a pureblood heritage, which is why they decided to bring Masaki. However, this also came with a condition.

As many Quincy were wiped out by the Shinigami, few Echt Quincy remain and those who do place the utmost importance on maintaining a pure bloodline. As a condition of keeping Masaki safe, the Ishida family took her in to continue their bloodline with an arranged marriage between Masaki and Ryuken Ishida.

At this time, a mysterious hollow named White, created by Aizen, was killing several Shinigami in the human world, which was a cause for concern. Isshin Shiba, formerly the captain of the 10th Division, sneaked into the human world to investigate. During Isshin's encounter with the Hollow, Masaki also sensed his incredible Reiatsu from the Ishida residence. Unwilling to sit back and let the Hollow wreak havoc, Masaki made her way to the location to help Isshin. She then lured White into attacking her, taking a direct hit to his head and killing him.

Unfortunately, this caused White to self-destruct, in which Isshin shielded Masaki from the explosion. The wound Masaki received from White caused her to undergo Hollowfication, the process of inserting a soul's soul into a normal soul, breaking the boundary and transforming the original soul into something much more powerful, as stated by Urahara Kisuke in chapter 535.

To save her, Isshin had to stop the “suicide of the soul”. Being the opposite of Quincy, Isshin is the only person who can save Masaki's life; however, it would also cost him his shinigami powers. Without hesitation, Isshin and Urahara quickly jumped into action and merged his soul with Masaki's, saving her life.

Afterwards, Masaki soon fell in love with Isshin and often visited his clinic after she became a university student. The two soon married and Isshin took the name Kurosaki as he was no longer the head of the Shiba family.

As mentioned, Masaki died protecting Ichigo from the Grand Fisher. After Masaki was rescued by Isshin, Masaki's soul was still mixed with the hollow. Since she was no longer a pure-blood Quincy, this was probably why Masaki lost her Quincy powers on the day of the Auswahlen, rendering her powerless against the Grand Fisher.

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