Karakura Town

Karakura Town at dawn

Karakura Town (空座町 Karakura-chō) is a fictional district of Tokyo in the manga and anime series Bleach. It borders Naruki City (Naruki-shi) on the west.

All the events of Bleach take place in Karakura, until Ichigo and company travel to Soul Society. During the Soul Society arc, Karakura is briefly seen, as Don Kanonji and the Karakura Superheroes battle hollows. Karakura is again the center of the Bleach storyline when Ichigo returns from Soul Society.

All notable characters in Bleach who attend the Karakura High School live in the town, except the families of Keigo Asano and Mizuiro Kojima. Most of them, including Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado, live in the south of Karakura.

Karakura has been stated as the current location in which the royal key (王鍵, ōken^?) must be created in order to access the dimensional space of the king of Soul Society. It has been stated by Jūshirō Ukitake that Karakura Town has a radius of two and a half spirit miles.^[1] This also requires a concentration of 100,000 souls in Karakura.^[2] Upon its creation, the key will vaporize most of Karakura Town.

Geography

Karakura is divided into 12 districts:^[3]

• Yumisawa (弓沢, lit. bow swamp)
• Kitakawase (北川瀬, lit. north river current)
• Gakuen Town (学園町 Gakuen chō)
• Tsubakidai (椿台)
• Karakura Old City (空座本町 Karakura honchō)
• Mittsumiya (三ツ宮, lit. shrine of the three)
• Mashiba (馬芝, lit. turf of the horse)
• Kinogaya (貴ノ茅)
• Kasazaki (笠咲)
• Minamikawase (南川瀬, lit. south river current)
• Sakurabashi (桜橋, lit. bridge of the cherry blossoms)
• Komatsu (黄松, lit. yellow bell)

Two rivers flow in Karakura: Karasu (空須), which flows within Karakura, and Onose (小野瀬), which separates western Karakura from the rest of Tokyo. There are three notable parks in Karakura: Tsubakidai Park in the Sakurabashi district, the park in Mashiba district, and Yumisawa Playground in Yumisawa.

Locations

Notable locations in Karakura include the Urahara Shop, Karakura High School, the Karakura Hospital (run by Ryūken Ishida), and the Kurosaki Family Clinic.

Karakura High School

Karakura High School is the high school where much of the beginning events in Bleach take place. All of the original protagonists of the series study at Karakura High. During the Arrancar arc, Renji Abarai, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto, Ikkaku Madarame & Yumichika Ayasegawa attend the school as well, posing as students.

Karakura Hospital

The Karakura Hospital is owned by Ryūken Ishida. In the anime, it is the battle ground between the protagonists of the series and the Bounts Hō and Ban. Underground, there is a special training area which Ryūken built to help his son Uryū regain his Quincy powers.

Kurosaki Family Clinic

The Kurosaki Family Clinic is a clinic run by Isshin Kurosaki with some assistance from his daughters, Yuzu and Karin. It is also the home of the Kurosaki family. Sora Inoue, Orihime's brother, died of his injuries in this clinic. Yasutora Sado was also a patient, after being attacked by a hollow.

Mashiba Junior High School

Mashiba Junior High School (Mashiba Chūgakkō) is the junior high school where Ichigo Kurosaki and Yasutora Sado came from. It is located in the Mashiba district.

Urahara Shop

The Urahara Shop (Urahara shōten) is the candy store belonging to Kisuke Urahara. It also sells shinigami wares and serves as a paramilitary base for the protagonists of the series - some of them trained in it, while others were taken in for healing. It has a massive subterranean "study room" modeled after a similar location in Soul Society where Urahara and Yoruichi used to train. According to Kubo, the Urahara Shop sells a very rare candy, "Space Candy." He says, "From the name, it sounds like it'll have some strange taste, but inside is only a coca cola tasting candy."^[4]

References

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