Soul Society is the place where spirits live, only souls can enter it: it is an afterlife world. Spirits don't have a material body, that's why it is impossible for humans to access it. Humans' and souls' worlds are separated by the Dangai. Except hollows, if one enters it, it is impossible to get out of it. It is a tunnel, and if you're caught inside, you won't be able to move anymore.
Soul Society consists of two main parts, the Seireitei in the center, where the Shinigami live and the Rukongai where all the other spirits dwell, the latter can't enter the Seireitei which have 4 gates, protected by the elite Shinigami. In addition to that, it is also protected by a sphere shaped barrier that blocks any spiritual energy. It is a very vast world, thus, it is very hard for two souls who knew each other in their human lives to find each other.
Like the Earth, Soul Society has laws, institutes, a government; however, their rules are made in order to protect human spirits, whether they are on Earth or in Soul Society. Souls, like humans, need to eat, especially if they hold spiritual powers. However, the appearance they have is the one they had the moment they died as humans, thus, it is hard to know who is older than who: a child could be older than an adult if he died before the adult. The length of days and night, the time, is the same in each world.
Important Locations[]
Seireitei[]
The Court of Pure Souls, at the center of Rukongai, is a walled fortress, home of the Shinigami, who are charged with protecting both Soul Society and the real world from Hollows. Seireitei itself is a massive, sprawling grounds, but very neatly organized in a militant manner. The pathways and corridors are long and winding, filled with dead ends, pitfalls, and minor traps to keep intruders out (assuming that any of them can get past the one of the four massive gates leading in to the fortress). Once you actually manage to navigate your way through the maze of white corridors, you will find the home of the Gotei 13.
These massive buildings house the Shinigami of the 13 squads, as well as the Academy and a variety of other areas, such as Central 46, the government buildings where all of the decisions are made. These are all set up around the Grand Hall, where the First Division resides, and all meetings are held. Every building in the compound is set up in a military style, easily defended and incredibly hard to attack, with alarms, emergency posts, lookouts, and arranged around the core buildings.
Rukongai[]
What makes up the majority of Soul Society, Rukongai is where most people go when they die. Divided in to 80 sections, starting with section one on the inside, and progressively working their way outwards. The outer sections are inhabited by the rougher, more violent and depraved souls, with the inhabitants of section 80 being the worst. The population improves as it works it's way inwards, with the people in section one being the purest and most lawful.
Set up like a town in feudal Japan, Rukongai is a quiet place for the most part, and the souls of the dead can reside there peacefully until they decide to reincarnate. There are, of course, occasional disturbances in the outer areas of Rukongai get in to the odd tussle. They usually don't involve the 'non-combatants', however.
The weather and temperature vary just as the do in the real world, and seasons come and go, but it never gets too hot or too cold, staying moderate at all times. The sky looks like the normal sky in the real world, with clouds and a sun and moon, and there are trees and rivers, grass and flowers outside the actual city, making it seem almost identical to the real world. The main difference, of course, is that everything in Soul Society is composed of condensed Spirit Particles.
Wilderness[]
The wilderness outside of Rukongai seems to stretch on forever. And seeing as nobody has bothered to explore it thoroughly, it's quite possible that it does indeed stretch on forever. Quite similar to the wilderness on Earth, the wilderness in Soul Society is filled with a variety of environments, ranging from sprawling forests to rolling plains, to towering mountains, to calm and peaceful lakes.
Laws of Soul Society[]
- The primary duty of all Shinigami is to first maintain the Balance of Souls, and then see to the protection of innocent souls and humans.
- It is against the law for a Shinigami to give their spiritual power to Humans. Punishment may depend upon the circumstances.
- It is against the law for a Shinigami to use forbidden Kidou. Punishment may depend upon the circumstances.
- It is against the law for any citizen of Soul Society to create weapons of a dangerous nature not sanctioned by the feudal government. To do so is treason, and is punished by Death.
- It is against the law to attack a Captain without issuing a formal Challenge. To do so is treason, and is punished by Death.
- It is against the law to commit terrorist action(s) or attempt to overthrow the balance of Soul Society. To do so is treason, and is punished by Death.
- It is against the law to commit murder, whether the victim be a fellow Shinigami, an innocent Soul, or a living Human.
- Exceptions are when an Execution has been ordered, or if lethal force was required to prevent the victim from endangering your own life, or the lives of others.
- It is forbidden for a Shinigami to acquire or attempt to gain Hollow-like Powers. Punishment is to be exiled from Soul Society, and to subsequently be treated as a Hollow.
- It is a crime for a Shinigami to remain in the Human World longer than a set amount of time. This is to prevent their Reiryoku from overtly affecting the souls of living Humans.
- It is against the law for the Gotei 13 to meddle in the affairs of the noble families unless the family in question breaks one of the laws of Soul Society beyond a shadow of a doubt.
- It is forbidden for a Shinigami to intervene in anything that is related to Hell.