Unlike other Soul Reapers, Shunsui possesses paired "zanpakutō" called . While the blades are normally two daisho swords, their Shikai state resemble dao or falchions. When released with the command , Katen Kyōkotsu gains the ability to "turn children's games into reality." One such game, , involves spinning around wind like a top. Another, , declares that whoever is the highest is the winner. A third technique, , forces the players to alter their own shadows; whoever steps on a shadow, even their own, is declared the loser. The fourth game is known as where players call out color and then slice the enemy where that color is displayed. However, if the color is not on the body of the person who called it out then the damage given is minimal; the more that the declared color is prevalent on the declarer's body, the more damage the attack will commit. A fifth game is called , a game similar to "Red Light Green Light". The sixth and final game is called which is a game where if a person is staring hard enough at another person's shadow, then their opponent creates after images of themselves. "Katen Kyōkotsu's" bankai is called , which he uses only when his allies are at a safe distance from himself. When released, Shunsui's bankai covers a large area around Shunsui in an aura. This aura changes others' perception of the surrounding environment, making them perceive it as darkened, bleak and gloomy, and causes others to feel varying levels of melancholy and despair. While it maintains its shikai form, its bankai allows Shunsui to manifest various stories, which can kill an opponent easily. It also manifests the spirit of Shunsui's "zanpakutō", a Feudal-Japan-style mistress referred to as Katen who created a kunoichi offshoot named Kyōkotsu to hold Shinken Hakkyōken until Nanao eventually asks for it.