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~Overview~Soul Society is the afterlife; the place where the dead goto after they have passed on by themselves or with the aid of a Shinigami - a God of Death, or more commonly referred to as a 'Soul Reaper'
This world consists of the Rukongai (Rukon District in the English version), where souls first live when they arrive in the Soul Society, and the Seireitei ("Court of Pure Souls"), which is at the center of the Soul Society, where the Shinigami dwell. The mode of life here closely resembles that of feudal Japan.
The Human World is for the living. Dead souls gather in the Soul Society. These two worlds are parallel to each other and are two sides of the same coin. Families separated by death are rarely reunited in the Soul Society unless they arrive in Soul Society together. People live nestled together like a family of strangers. One never gets hungry (if she or he doesn't have spiritual powers) and aging is slowed to a great extent, with lifespans of 2000 or more years not being unheard of, though such ages are limited to Shinigami or other Soul Society dwellers with high spiritual power. Children can even be born as they are in the Human World. People can also be killed as regular Humans are, though they are capable of surviving wounds that would normally be considered fatal. A soul that dies in Soul Society is reincarnated on Earth as a new Human with no past memories.
~Accessing Soul Society~Shinigami enter and leave Soul Society by unlocking the
Senkaimon using a
Hell Butterfly. Sometimes, a soul isn't able to pass on because of regret or sadness, or because of some other emotion or thing that ties them to the human world. When this happens, they souls must be moved to Soul Society by a Shinigami, that performs a 'Soul Burial' to force them into Soul Society.
Intruders can pass through the Senkaimon in the same manner, but only in soul form. This allows spiritual beings, such as Ichigo in his Shinigami form, to enter without permission. Humans can also use such a gate through the use of Reishihenkanki (spirit exchangers), which convert solid matter into
Reishi's. While this method uses the same gate, the lack of a Hell Butterfly forces intruders to pass through the
Dangai, a bordering dimension between the human world and Soul Society (not to be confused with
Hueco Mundo). This is much more dangerous to do, as souls that cannot pass through before the gate to Soul Society closes are trapped there forever.
Hollows can also directly rip a hole to Soul Society from Hueco Mundo, or in the case of Arrancar, using their ability, Garganta.
