The Thousand Year Blood War Part 3 reveals the true reason behind Ukitake's weakness

Key conclusions

  • Ukitake's severe lung disease was saved by the divine intervention of Mimihaga, the soul king's right-hand man.
  • Ukitake sacrificed his borrowed life to stabilize the kingdom, fulfilling his destiny from the beginning of the arc.
  • Despite his illness, Ukitake's immense talent as a Shinigami and his knowledge of Mimihagi's true nature reveal his selflessness.



In the third episode BLEACH: A Thousand Years of Blood War, Part 3titled The Dark Hand, 13th Squad Captain Jushiro Ukitake reveals why he has been so ill his entire life and how his life-threatening lung disease was partially alleviated by the divine intervention of Mimihaga, a local deity worshiped in Sakahona, Rukongai's 76th District .

With Yhwach threatening the very fabric of the realms by wanting to kill the Soul King, Ukitake initiates a ritual that will return the life he borrowed from Mimihagi, whose true identity is the right hand of the Soul King himself. Here's a quick rundown of Ukitake's backstory and the selflessness of his victims.

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A young life taken away by illness

Ukitake almost died as a child

Ukitake Jushiro Obsessed with Mimihagi – BLEACH Millennium Blood War Part 3 Episode 3


“Lord of Mimihaga, Lord of Mimihaga. Kill the disease that is eating our child and eat his organs.

Lord Mimihagi, Lord Mimihagi. Divine hand from heaven…please bless us with your power…”

Although Ukitake was part of a lower-class aristocratic house in the Soul Society, he lived in poverty with his parents, and his quality of life was horribly diminished by an unnamed illness that was debilitating his lungs. When he was three years old, young Ukitake was already on the verge of death and his parents at the end of their minds. No doctors could cure what ailed their son, so in desperation they brought him to the statue of Mimihagi and prayed to the deity that it could take his lungs, allowing him to grow up to be a relatively healthy boy and become a Shinigami. However, Mimihaga's intervention did not mean he was cured, as he still occasionally coughed up blood, a sign of the time he had borrowed from the deity. During his obsession, young Ukitake sees a vision of a mysterious humanoid creature with a fist-shaped head, covered in a tunic resembling the spiritual robes worn by Shinto and Buddhist priests, otherwise known as day. A dark shadow emanates from the essence, enters Ukitake's body and engulfs him from within, turning him into a dark mirror of himself.


Although Mimihagi saved his life, Ukitake's physical condition was questioned several times, and shortly after Kayen Shiba's death, the Central 46 expressed their concern over Ukitake's refusal to replace his deputy. Despite his poor health, Ukitake has proven at times to be a very talented Shinigami who could be on par with his best friend Shunsui Kyoraku. Mimihaga's intervention in Ukitake's illness is an expression of his power over the concept of Silence; or stagnation, which means it has the ability to inhibit all change or development, like the progression of a disease in Ukitake's case. He gives gifts to anyone who gives him something other than the eye because he already has it, and he consumes the part offered, becoming one with it, hence the vision of Ukitake Mimihaga in the primordial waters. In the 3rd episode BLEACH: A Thousand Years of Blood War, Part 3Ukitake summons divine possession and offers his body to become the soul king's new right hand, which then stabilizes the tilt of the realms towards each other.


Did Ukitake always know his destiny?

He started the ritual at the beginning of the arc

Ukitake begins the Kamikake Ritual - BLEACH The Thousand Year Blood War

During the events of the third episode BLEACH: The Thousand Year Blood War In Part 3, we also see a brief anime-only interaction between Ukitake and Unohana shortly after Yamamoto's death, in which he tells her that he will see her again soon, which could be understood as a nod to both of them losing their lives during the last arc and, as it turns out, were cast into hell during No breath from hell once and for all due to the fact that souls with enormous levels of reishi cannot be safely returned to the cycle of reincarnation and must therefore be sent to Hell through a special soul burial.


We barely see Ukitake during this arc, and when we do, he's holed up in a mysterious-looking hut, which we now understand to be the Mimihagi statue. Given the fact that Ukitake and Kyoraku have a conversation about the Mimihagi when they were young, and the rumor that it was actually the Soul King's severed hand. Ukitake was always aware of his condition, and since he was Mimihaga's master, he also intuitively knew her true nature. Based on his actions, it is clear that he knew that one day he would have to give up the life given to him for the sake of the Soul Society, and the truth behind his situation is one of the most harrowing yet inspiring events in the world's final arc. BLEACH.

Bleach_ Thousand Year Blood War

Bleach: The Thousand Year Blood War

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