Just like any other shounen series, Ichigo as the main character occupied the overwhelming majority of the story. That being said, the other supporting cast does get to shine from time to time. Such as his friends, or other captains from Gotei 13. However, a group of people that rarely take the center stage is his family. Sure, we get to see his father and his sisters once in a while, but for the most parts, they simply stay as background characters.
The same thing is even more true in regard to his mother. As a matter of fact, we only get to see Ichigo’s mother at the very beginning of the series, and after that she is pretty much absent from the story altogether. That is until the last arc, The Thousand-Year Blood War comes along. This is where we finally get to see the significance of Ichigo’s mother to the overall story of Bleach.
Ichigo’s Parents
Before we proceed, the upcoming information is a major spoiler for the last arc of Bleach, which will finally get the long-awaited anime adaptation in Fall 2022. So if you never read the manga and prefer to only watch the anime, then consider yourself warned. That being said, we would still try to keep the spoiler to the bare minimum.
The first time we see Ichigo’s mother is in the very first episode of Bleach. She was walking together with Ichigo when a Hollow attacked them. She died protecting his son. From that moment on, Ichigo lived together with his father and little sisters. As for Ichigo’s father, Isshin Kurosaki, he is a doctor with his own little clinic, the Kurosaki clinic, in Karakura Town. He is an energetic man who likes to goof around with his children. And after the death of his wife, he never remarried to another woman.
Who is Ichigo’s Mother
The name of Ichigo’s mother is Masaki Kurosaki. She is an energetic and carefree girl with a strong sense of justice. She is the type of person who would act first and think second, which is a trait that she would pass on to her son, Ichigo. And one more thing, she is also a pure-blood Quincy.
As a matter of fact, she is the last of the line of the pure-blood Quincy from the Kurosaki family. Since she lost her parents, Masaki lives with fellow pure-blood Quincy family. The Ishida family. Yes, Ishida as in Uryuu Ishida, one of Ichigo’s best friends.
At the time, in order to retain Quincy's pure-blood, Masaki was set to marry Ishida’s father, Ryuken Ishida. However, Masaki was attacked by a strange hollow when she was in highschool. She managed to kill the hollow, but she also suffered a rather light wound from it. As it turned out, a speck of the hollow soul managed to seep into her own soul and contaminated its pureness.
Knowing this, the Ishida family decided to call off the engagement. Masaki left the Ishida family and later on married to Isshin, who would take on her surname, Kurosaki. Their first son is Ichigo Kurosaki. At around the same time, Ryuken married a mixed-blood Quincy called Katagiri. Their first son is Uryuu Ishida. As you can see, although not biologically related, the relationship between Ichigo and Uryuu is actually a lot closer than you might think.
What is Her Role in The Story
One of the most prevalent conflicts within Bleach is Ichigo’s struggle to fight his inner Hollow. He managed to more or less control it, and even use its power for his own benefit, during the Arrancar arc.
As you can probably surmise, that inner hollow comes from the hollow that managed to contaminate the soul of his mother. That part of her mother’s soul was somehow passed on to Ichigo. And as we already know, it turned out to be an incredibly useful power for him. That being said, that’s not the only thing that Ichigo receives from his mother. The other thing that his mother passed on to him is her Quincy power. Because despite being contaminated, Masaki was originally a pure-blood Quincy, so her strength is the real deal.
Since the last arc is all about the war between Shinigami and Quincy, this hidden power is precisely what Ichigo needed in order to defeat his enemies. That is why Ichigo is not just some random shinigami who somehow becomes the hero that saves the Soul Society. He is a miracle boy who has the ability of Shinigami, Hollow, and Quincy, combined in one body. Passing on that Hollow and Quincy soul is his mother’s role in the story. And with reasons that won’t be disclosed in this article, his mother is also one of Ichigo’s biggest sources of motivation when he goes to fight the last boss.