This article, Irazusandō is considered to be canon material as it contains only information related to the original Bleach series and does not contain fanon or fan fiction elements. → Main article: Irazu Sandō |
Irazusandō (不入参道, Irazusandou)[1] is a sacred place located within the Soul King Palace. According to Ichibē Hyōsube, it can only be entered with permission from the Soul King.[2]
Overview[]
- "It begins, but does not end.
Names wither in the silence.
In an abyss of rolling clouds.
Raindrops fill an empty vessel.
Those who are unworthy to be a vessel
succumb to its weight as it turns to stone.
It breaks apart and turns to gravel.
Pounding rain reduces it to dust.
For such a vessel, there is no way out.
But if one does not enter, there is no path.
Those who are about to perish all it… Irazusando." - —Ichibē Hyōsube[1]
The Irazusandō is a stone pathway between two unadorned torii gates. It is accessed through a small shrine atop one of the many mountains within Ichibē’s domain.[2] On either side of the pathway lies a watery void. Rain falls constantly, and plants grow beside the stones of the pathway, shining with golden light. Lining the Iruzandou, large Shide form the walls of the corridor. While inside the Irazusandō, Ichigo Kurosaki found it extremely difficult to move due to a weight pressing down on him. He noted that how no matter how close he got to the gate, the farther away it seemed.[3]
Plot[]
Shortly before the Wandenreich’s second invasion of the Seireitei, Ichibē leads Ichigo up the steps to a small shrine within the mountains of his domain. He tells Ichigo that in order to defeat Yhwach, the latter must surpass his existence as a Shinigami, and that he will test him to see if he is worthy of this. Ichigo questions why Ichibē and the Royal Guard didn't intervene to stop the Wandenreich, to which Ichibē responds that it is his job to observe and to train. Ichigo attempts to leave to return to the Seireitei, but Ichibē convinces him that he is hopeless to defeat Yhwach in his current state. Promising to surpass whatever he needs to, Ichigo enters the shrine and places the blades of his Zanpakutō on a bare altar beneath a Shimenawa. Ichigo finds that he is holding a simple bokken, and Ichibē states that they will begin. The shrine peels away around them, and Ichigo finds himself inside the Irazusandō.[2] As he approaches the gate in front of him, Ichibē reads from a scroll that describes the trial of the Irazusandō as one which reduces unworthy vessels to dust through pounding rain, even though the only path is to enter.[1]
After a while, Ichigo begins to experience recurrent visions of the Soul King as he nears the gate. Four translucent pupils that resemble The Almighty fill his eyes as he witnesses these visions. [3]
Trivia[]
- The visions Ichigo experiences while in the Irazusandō appear to depict the creation of the Three Worlds by the Soul King and his subsequent betrayal as described in Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World.
- According to Shinto, when Shide are suspended from a Shimenawa, they represent a sacred border.
- No mention of Irazusandō is made in the manga, as the only part of Ichigo's training by Ichibē that is shown is the moment when Ichigo places his swords down on the altar of the shrine.[4]