BLEACH: The Secret Zanpakutō Capable of Mimicking Others

Essential Insights

In the BLEACH novels, Tokinada Tsunayashiro wields Enrakyōten, an exceptionally potent Zanpakutō known for its ability to replicate various techniques, including those of Kyōka Suigetsu and Ryūjin Jakka.
While Enrakyōten can simultaneously imitate multiple Zanpakutō powers, it also takes on their vulnerabilities and consumes the wielder’s lifespan.
Some Zanpakutō, such as Ichigo’s Zangetsu, elude complete duplication by Enrakyōten, resonating with Buddhist themes surrounding wisdom and the notion of reality as an illusion.

This article contains significant spoilers for the BLEACH: Can’t Fear Your Own World series by Ryohgo Narita, in addition to heavy spoilers for BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War, available on Hulu and Disney+.

The BLEACH: Can’t Fear Your Own World novels authored by Ryohgo Narita shed light on crucial aspects of the BLEACH universe, detailing the intricate dynamics of the three realms and revealing the dark secrets associated with the Soul Society and the Soul King.

The story’s antagonist, Tokinada Tsunayashiro, is portrayed as a manipulative and sadistic individual who orchestrates his ascension from a branch family member to the leader of the Tsunayashiro Clan, one of the Soul Society’s Four Great Noble Families charged with safeguarding its historical legacy. Through cunning machinations, Tokinada gains access to the Tsunayashiro archives, acquiring the formidable Zanpakutō, Enrakyōten, which has the capability to mimic the powers of any Zanpakutō that has ever existed.

The Ancestral Zanpakutō

Enrakyōten: Ancestral Zanpakutō Unveiled

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 10 – Zanpakuto Origins — BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 10 – The Origins of Zanpakutō

Upon liberating Enrakyōten from the Tsunayashiro clan’s archive, Tokinada does so out of necessity, as he lacks a personal Zanpakutō. He is married to Kakyō, a friend of Kaname Tosen, who was tragically murdered by her husband—a Shinigami and Gotei 13 officer who was exonerated due to his noble lineage. Following the trial, Tokinada’s Zanpakutō was seized, with its properties remaining unidentified. The Tsunayashiro family, responsible for chronicling and preserving history through the Visuals and Surveillance Division, has a Zanpakutō reflective of this duty, possessing the unique ability to take on the form and powers of any other Zanpakutō.

Enrakyōten closely aligns with the Ise family’s Shinken Hakkyōken (“Divine Eight Mirror Sword”) and is recognized as one of the oldest Zanpakutō in existence. Legends suggest that this blade is cursed, with its utilization decreeing a toll on the wielder’s lifespan. Yet, given the immense potential of its abilities, Tokinada was determined to pay the steep price.

Throughout the Can’t Fear Your Own World novels, Tokinada effectively utilizes Enrakyōten to mimic the abilities of various Zanpakutō, including those of Sosuke Aizen’s Kyōka Suigetsu and former Captain-Commander Genryūsai Yamamoto Shigekuni’s Ryūjin Jakka. The name Enrakyōten translates to “Law of the Bewitching Lucid Mirror.”Tokinada preferred to keep its true potential under wraps, often presenting it with a deceptive name: Kuten-Kyōkoku; “Nine Heavens Mirror Valley,”echoing the binomial nomenclature of Shinsui Kyoraku’s Katen Kyōkotsu. This alternative identity grants Enrakyōten the ability to reflect attacks back to the assailants, but its true power is staggering, especially in the hands of someone like Tokinada, who possesses exhaustive records of Soul Society’s entire history.

Enrakyōten’s Unique Powers

A Genuine Blade of Reflection

BLEACH Can't Fear Your Own World Tokinada Tsunayashiro

Enrakyōten’s Shikai comes to life through the incantation, “Sip the world and wear the horizon. Duplicate and curtail… All of creation equally,”unleashing a magnificent glow before rendering the blade invisible. Once activated, the wielder can utilize the powers of any Zanpakutō they have previously encountered. Tokinada has witnessed the abilities of several Zanpakutō, such as 7th Kenpachi Kuruyashiki’s Gagaku Kairō, Hanatarō Yamada’s Hisagomaru, Byakuya Kuchiki’s Senbonzakura, Zennosuke Kurumadani’s Tsuchinamazu, Ōmaeda’s Gegetsuburi, Gin Ichimaru’s Shinsō, Rangiku Matsumoto’s Haineko, among others.

What sets this apart is Enrakyōten’s capability to simultaneously imitate numerous Zanpakutō powers, amplifying their might based on the wielder’s reiatsu. For instance, while Tokinada’s Kyōka Suigetsu is notably weaker compared to Aizen’s, his replication of Matsumoto’s Haineko proves to be significantly more powerful than its original form. Although Enrakyōten possesses extraordinary potential as a weapon in capable hands, its vulnerabilities accompany its strengths; the echoing of weaknesses from the copied powers could leave an unprepared wielder exposed.

Despite its overarching ability to replicate any Zanpakutō the wielder has witnessed, certain weapons remain immune to duplication. A prime example being Ichigo Kurosaki’s Zangetsu, which can only be mimicked in form without the inclusion of its unique abilities. This limitation may stem from the varying types of reiatsu that shape Zangetsu and its associated powers. Furthermore, the fact that Enrakyōten draws on its wielder’s life force poses a crucial disadvantage; likely, this is why the Tsunayashiro family keeps it under lock and key. Within Buddhism, mirrors symbolize the “illusion of reality,”embodying wisdom since reality encompasses more than merely what is observable. These associations may also explain why Enrakyōten has no visible blade when activated and how its functionality relates to this symbolism.

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