Reishi

Biodata

Nature

• Soul Society and its souls are composed of Reishi, making it the common material underlying Ichiro's Reishi Alchemy 2.
• Ichiro argues that Reishi and Kishi, the material traditionally associated with the World of the Living, are different forms of the same substance. He supports this claim with experimental methods and data 232.
• Reishi can be decomposed and reconstructed. Ichiro uses those processes to transmute objects, including firearms adapted for use in Soul Society 11 25.

Uses

• Reishi Alchemy — Ichiro analyzes, decomposes, and reconstructs Reishi to make weapons and alter physical structures 11 21 31.
• Reishi Martial Art — A contact-based technique that decomposes a target's Reishi. Against powerful opponents, Ichiro must analyze their structures and may initially dismantle only part of the body 97 115.
• Quincy techniques — Reishi Subjugation forcibly dismantles Reishi structures and absorbs the result. Ichiro's Spirit-Devouring Bullet applies a related effect through Sklaverei 272 273.

Balance of the Three Realms

Reishi flows between the Three Realms, and a severe imbalance threatens all three. Soul Society treats preserving that balance as a central duty; Quincy attacks are feared in part because souls they destroy do not enter the usual cycle 232 269.

Ichiro proposes isolating the realms' Reishi flows with a vast Kido barrier and giving each realm its own circulation system. Later, after a battle causes a rapid imbalance, he temporarily stabilizes it and, with Moon Spirit's assistance, changes the balance mechanism itself 232 407 409.