In the beginning, there were simply the makers, and in particular there was one maker who had within him the power to create a formidable being indeed. In his own infinite wisdom and benevolence, the maker known as the Soul King, decided to become the one who would protect all life on Earth. As another Maker's creation known as the Hollows, had begun to devour the creations of another Maker which were known as Humans. The Soul King decided to protect his fellow makers creations by imbuing her creations with some of his own power. These humans who would be blessed enough to have some of the Soul King's power would come to be known as Shinigami. Shinigami were the ones burdened with the task of protecting both living and recently deceased Humans, as well as guiding the deceased ones to a special dimension he created known as Soul Society.

The first Shinigami were nothing more then a rag tag group of pluses, who when asked by the king, agreed to act as his feudalistic hands of justice. Originally, they would use swords fashioned by the other denizen of Soul Society, but it was not until one Shinigami created the first Zanpakutou, that the Shinigami finally gained the ability to not only use the Konso, but also the ability to clear the sins from Hollows thereby allowing them to return to being a plus. In the beginning, their was not a single central body that governed all of the Shinigami. This in turn created a logistical nightmare that was eventually sorted with the creation of the Gotei 13 over a million years, after the founding of Soul Society.

With the founding of the Gotei 13 came many other advancements, including the creation of the justice system as well as the Seireitei. Their had always been a royal guard, yet, their had been known formal system for management of the Shinigami as a whole. With Soul Society also having royal families and many historians, a form of checks and balance on the Gotei 13 was created in the form of Chamber 46. After the creation of Chamber 46, came the designation of the squad roles as well as the Shinigami ranks and systems of leadership. The Shinigami had finally become a proper military with it's own bureaucracy and hierarchical system.

The Shinigami have been the pinnacle of power and strength for the Soul King. They serve as a beacon to all who seek to defend truth, justice, and the helpless.