Gin Ichimaru is the captain of the 3rd Division in Gotei 13 before he betrayed Soul Society and joined Sosuke Aizen's Arrancar army as a commander. During his stay as captain in Soul Society, he had a loyal lieutenant Izuru Kira. Gin's story started from the day he saved Rangiku Matsumoto from starvation when they were still children, and this resulted in the two being good friends ever since. Rangiku is the only person Gin seems to truly care about, although he tends to disappear often, as Rangiku puts it. He also very secretive about his movements and never shares much with her. Gin was considered a child prodigy when he graduated from the academy within one year. He was then assigned to a seated position in the 5th Division. There Gin killed the 3rd seat of the division with ease, which made Aizen truly interested in him. When Aizen was made Captain of the 5th Division, Gin was promoted to lieutenant rank.

Gin Ichimaru's zanpakuto is Shinso which literally translates to 'Divine Spear'. Shinso takes the form of a wakizashi (Japanese short sword) when sealed. The guard looks very similar to an 'S'. Shinso is released into shikai mode by the phrase ikorose or 'shoot to kill' (how cool is that?). In shikai form, Shinso's blade glows bright-white and extends at high speed to impale an enemy. This was first shown in the confrontation with Kurosaki Ichigo who tried to break-in to Soul Society. In addition to making it a deadly long-range weapon, Shinso's extending blade also carries tremendous force without affecting Gin, making it useful to dislodge heavy objects. Gin pushed both Ichigo and the giant Jidanbo out from under the Seireitei gate, despite the latter being firmly braced under it. Once extended, Gin can maintain the blade's length and swing Shinso in wide arcs, attacking multiple targets quickly and simultaneously.

While it hasn't been seen in the actual series, various Bleach console games have depicted Shinso as having additional abilities. In Bleach: The Blade of Fate, Bleach: Dark Souls, and Bleach: Shattered Blade, Gin fires Shinso into the sky and swords similar to Shinso's unreleased state rain all around him. In Bleach: Blade Battlers, Gin shoots Shinso into the ground and the blade hits the opponent from underneath, whereas in Bleach: Heat the Soul 5, a wave of blades instead shoots up from the ground to hit the opponent. Gin's bankai ability has not been revealed yet but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a huge long sword that can extend sideways too. Just my imagination.

The Gin Ichimaru Shinso Zanpakuto Sword replica from 247Swords have an overall length of 38", blade length 27" and handle length 11". The scabbard that comes with the sword is made of wood with a high-gloss black liquid finish. At the scabbard, a black cotton sage-o (hanging cord) is tied around a wooden Kurigata (loop for the cord). The Koi-guchi (open-end scabbard mouth) is black bull horn to match the sword's color. The blade is made of 440 stainless steel and comes factory sharpened. What's different with this replica is (I'm sure you guessed it too) - the length, it's more of a Japanese katana than a wakizashi. Maybe the manufacturer wanted to make it more worthwhile for their customers, give it the extra mile or inches so to speak. But the other thing is the hilt is wrapped in black rather than blue as in the anime. Most probably this sword was designed based on the black and white manga.

There is another version of Gin Ichimaru Shinso Zanpakuto Sword replica from TotalActionAnime. It is a bit longer with overall length at 40" and blade length 27". The blade's edge is not that sharp and is made of polished stainless steel. The handle is wrapped in black leather (again) and the sword replica comes with a high-gloss black scabbard.