Key conclusions
- Masaki Kurosaki was a Quincy who lost her powers while protecting Ichigo from the Grand Fisher.
- Masaka's heritage and marriage to Isshin reveal key plot points in Bleach.
- Isshin saved Masaka's life by fusing 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 unfortunate accident. However, the truth about her heritage was revealed during the Millennium Blood War.
Masaki has always been the center of attention in the Kurosaki household. However, her legacy contained the answer to Ichigo's power and information about Aizen's schemes. But who was Masaki and how does her heritage affect Ichigo?
Who was Masaki Kurosaki?
Everyone in her family loved Masaki and she was the glue that held them together
Kurosaki Masaki was the wife of Ishin Kurosaki, formerly Ishin Shiba. She was also the mother of three children: a boy, Ichigo, and two twin girls, 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 centered around her.
Masaki was also an Echt pureblood Quincy. The Quincy are a race of spiritual men who all inherited their Quincy powers from Iwah, the King of the Quincy. However, the Quincy were a dying race as many of them were wiped out by the Soul Society over 200 years ago. While Soul Society's primary goal was to maintain balance in the world and prevent it from collapsing, the Quincy's goal was to hunt down and destroy all the Hollows, leading to the collapse of the world.
At the beginning of the series, Masaki's heritage was unknown and she was believed to be a normal human. Unfortunately, in Chapter 19 Memories in the Rain, we learn of Masaki's death during Ichigo's flashback at age 9. In the chapter, we learn that Ichigo can always see ghosts and the Void, even from a young age. This ability is probably due to his mother being a Quincy and his father being a Shinigami.
Thanks to his ability to see ghosts, Ichigo could not tell the living from the dead at the age of 9. Just like Ichigo's personality in the present, Ichigo also had a kind heart as a child. Because of this, when Ichigo saw a young girl in the rain, he ran to her to prevent her from jumping into the river.
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Unfortunately, Ichigo didn't listen to his mother's pleas to stop; when he awoke, she died protecting him from the Void Great Fisherman. Ichigo believed this for years before he learned the truth about his heritage. At this time, Ichigo thought he was responsible for his mother's death; however, this was not the case.
Chapter 537 revealed that Yhwach initiated the Auswahlen or Holy Choice on June 17th. During this choice, Yhwach stole powers from the Mixed Bloods or Gemischt Quincy's to restore his own power. Due to the Auswahlen, Masaki lost her Quincy powers and in doing so lost her life protecting Ichigo from the Grand Fisher.
How did Masaki meet Ishin, the Shinigami?
Masaki was an exceptional Quincy, and her kindness led to a chance meeting
As mentioned earlier, Masaki was an Echt and a pureblood 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 for being a pure-blood Quincy. Ishida's family also had pureblood heritage, so they decided to bring in Masaki. However, this also came with a condition.
Since many of the Quincy were destroyed by the Shinig, there are few Echt Quincy left, and those who do place great importance on keeping the bloodline pure. As a condition of keeping Masaki safe, the Ishida family took her in to continue their bloodline through an arranged marriage between Masaki and Ryuken Ishida.
At this time, a mysterious desert named White, created by Aizen, was killing several Shinigami in the human world, causing concern. Issin Shiba, who used to be the captain of the 10th Division, ventured into the human world to investigate. During Ishin's meeting with Lagtina, Masaki also sensed her incredible Reiatsu from Ishida's residence. Unwilling to sit back and let the Hollow wreak havoc, Masaki headed to the scene to help Isshin. She then lured White into attacking her by stabbing him in the head, killing him.
Unfortunately, this led to White self-destructing, in which Isshin protected Masaki from the explosion. The wound Masaki received from White caused her to undergo Hollowification, the process of injecting a Hollow's soul into a normal soul, thus breaking the boundary and transforming the original soul into something much more powerful, as stated by Urahara Kisuke in chapter 535.
In order to save her, Ishin had to stop the Soul Killer. Since Isshin is the opposite of Quincy, he is the only person who can save Masaka's life; however, it would also cost him his Shinigami abilities. Without hesitation, Isshin and Urahara quickly swung into action and merged his soul with Masaki's, saving her life.
After that, Masaki soon fell in love with Ishin and often visited his clinic after she became a university student. They soon married and Isshin took the surname Kurosaki as he was no longer the head of the Shiba family.
As mentioned earlier, Masaki died protecting Ichigo from the Grand Fisher. After Masaki was saved by Isshin, Masaki's soul was still mixed with Hollow's soul. Since she was no longer a pure-blood Quincy, this was probably the reason why Masaki lost her Quincy powers on the day of Ausvalen, rendering her powerless against the Great Fisher.
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