Ranks

Ranks

As with any army, the Gotei 13 has ranks. There are 20 ranks for officers but no ranks for non-officers. The lower the number is, the more important. The ranks and their descriptions are below, from highest to lowest in terms of strength.


Commander-General

The sōtaichō (総隊長, lit. commander-general, dubbed as head-captain) is the leader of the Gotei 13 and the captain of the 1st Division; the implication is that this is an ex officio or a primus inter pares position. The current holder of this title is Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai.


Unit Commander

A Taichō (隊長, Taichō? lit. Unit Commander), commonly referred to as Captain, are the leaders of the thirteen divisions (with the special case of the Commander-General). While "captain" is not an accurate translation of the rank, it's appropriate considering the size of the unit they lead. A single Gotei 13 'unit' (隊) is estimated at about 200-500 troops. Viz renders the units as 'companies' rather than 'divisions' because captains lead companies in real life. However, given that each Captain in Bleach leads a major part of a military wing or corps, they could be division commanders or Generals. Most literally, the name simply means 'unit commander', which could be practically any officer rank.

Captains are generally the most respected shinigami in Soul Society, with the Central 46 Chambers, Demon Art Corps, and special forces leaders possibly being on equal status. With one exception (Kenpachi Zaraki), all captains are able to perform the bankai of their zanpakutō and are generally much more powerful than even their lieutenants. Knowing the bankai gives captains an average of five to ten times the strength of shinigami who are unable to perform it. They have also extensively trained, if not mastered, their bankai, allowing them to actually use the enormous power effectively in battle. Most captains are also skilled in the use of shunpō, kidō, and generally have excellent knowledge of shinigami history and battle tactics. All of these factors create a huge power-gap between captains and lower-ranked officers.

There are three different ways to become a Gotei 13 captain:

To take the captain proficiency test (隊首, taishu?), which requires the ability to perform the bankai. Presumably, most shinigami become captains using this method. At least three existing captains, including the Commander-General, have to witness the test.
To have personal recommendations from at least six captains and approval from at least three of the remaining seven.
To defeat a captain one-on-one with at least 200 witnesses from the captain's division. Kenpachi Zaraki is the only known captain to have achieved his rank using this method.

Vice-unit commander

Fukutaichō (副隊長, Fukutaichō? lit. Vice-Unit commander), more commonly referred to as Lieutenants, are the 2nd seated officers in each division. Because captain describes the unit commander, vice-captain is the most literally accurate translation some have used. The Viz manga translation renders the rank as the similar but somewhat longer "assistant captain", while the English dub of the anime uses the term "lieutenant". Although this does not apply to modern armies, in historical real-life armies the lieutenant has been the adjutant of the captain, as is the case for fukutaichō and taichō in Bleach. Therefore, lieutenant is a correct real-life equivalent of this rank. Holders of this rank in Gotei 13 have also been called adjutants.

Lieutenants function as executive officers for their division, taking care of or supervising day-to-day operations. They (along with their captains) are not assigned to one specific squad. They generally only know the shikai of their zanpakutō, but are still the second strongest in their division. In the case of a division captain's death, departure, or other circumstances making him unable to perform their duties, the lieutenant acts as the substitute captain until another can be assigned.


Seated officers

Sekikan (席官, Sekikan? lit. Seated officers) are the remainder of the officers in the Gotei 13 who hold ranks at or below 3rd Seat. Captains have the rank of 1st Seat and lieutenants are 2nd Seat. Next to that, there are 18 more seats (3rd to 20th). These ranks are somewhat analogous to junior officers or non-commissioned officers in modern militaries. There seems to be a distinction between senior and junior seated officers, just like in real-life armies. In the Gotei 13, only one person can hold a senior officer rank (such as 3rd or 5th seat), but there are several holders of junior officer ranks (e.g. 20th seat). This may vary from division to division however, as there are two 3rd Seats in the 13th Division. Seated officers often lead subunits within each division (for example, Hanatarō Yamada is leader of 4th Division's 14th Advanced Relief Team).