Kisuke Urahara (浦原 喜助, Urahara Kisuke^?) is a fictional character and major figure in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. He runs the Urahara Shop, which sells various Soul Reaper items under the guise of a candy shop, later acts as an adviser and coach to the series protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, and is the main character of the manga's Turn Back The Pendulum arc, which is set a century before the main Bleach timeline. He is assisted in maintaining the Urahara Shop by Ururu Tsumugiya, Jinta Hanakari, and Tessai Tsukabishi.

Urahara was among the top ten most popular characters in the first three Bleach popularity polls, scoring 8th place and 3,676 votes in the third, trailing behind Yoruichi Shihōin by 68 votes. However, as of the fourth popularity poll, he is no longer in the top ten. 

Kisuke's first appearance is along with the other members of his shop, giving Rukia Kuchiki some gikongan. Prior to this, Kisuke, offscreen, gives Rukia a special gigai that will slowly transform her into a human, locking the Hōgyoku inside her forever. Kisuke also plays a significant role by transforming Ichigo Kurosaki into his Soul Reaper state when Rukia is unable to, and also helps defeat several hollows and block Rukia from reaching Ichigo so Ichigo and Uryū Ishida can defeat a Menos Grande without interference. Urahara also transforms Ichigo into his Soul Reaper state when Byakuya Kuchiki and Renji Abarai appear to bring Rukia back to Soul Society, mainly so Ichigo would learn how outclassed he is, then trains Ichigo to regain his Soul Reaper powers and learn his zanpakuto's shikai afterwards. Kisuke also sends him, Uryū, Orihime Inoue, and Yasutora Sado to Soul Society along with Yoruichi Shihōin to rescue Rukia.

Once they return, Kisuke plays a more active role in the series. In the anime, he sends three modified souls to train the four and Renji Abarai by pretending to be enemies battling them, and also reveals to the group the existence of the Bount, who plan on invading Soul Society. Kisuke also helps the group sneak into the Bount mansion, though he prefers to stay out of the battles. When the arrancar begin to terrorize Karakura Town, Kisuke and Yoruichi fight Yammy on two occasions, and he also lets Chad and Renji train in his shop. He also attempts to hide Orihime from Aizen's view so he won't attempt to kidnap her, though this fails. After Orihime is captured, Kisuke opens a portal for Ichigo, Chad, and Uryū to enter Hueco Mundo to rescue her, and also tells three of Ichigo's friends from school to do their part with their deal with Ichigo. During Ichigo's absence, Urahara works on two projects given to him by Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai: to create a portal that will allow some of Soul Society's forces to enter Hueco Mundo, and to prepare the remaining forces for Sōsuke Aizen's eventual invasion of Karakura Town.

Benihime

Kisuke Urahara's zanpakutō is Benihime (紅姫, Benihime^? "crimson princess"). It is one of the few known female zanpakutō. When sealed, Benihime takes the form of a shikomizue (a blade hidden inside Urahara's cane). The shaft of the cane is able to separate a soul from a body, much like Rukia Kuchiki's glove. Flashbacks to when he served in the Gotei 13 shows that Benhime was originally sealed in an ordinary katana with a flower-shaped guard. The shikai command of Benihime is "awaken" (起きろ, okiro^?).

In its shikai, Benihime's blade becomes wider than that of his sealed zanpakutō and the hilt curves, adding a crimson ribbon and other elaborate decorations around it. Benihime has two known special abilities, one for offense and one for defense, both of which are activated by the command "scream" (啼け, nake^?, "sing" or "cry" in Japanese versions). Benihime's defensive ability forms a polygonal "blood mist shield" in front of Urahara. The barrier is able to block Ichigo's first use of his Getsuga Tenshō while only slightly eroding. Benihime's offensive ability fires a crimson-colored energy blast which is similar to a cero as Urahara was easily able to cancel out the blast by the Espada Yammy by striking it head-on with this attack. In the game Bleach: Blade Battlers, Urahara has a special skill/effect that when used, causes Benihime's bloodmist shield becomes an opaque golden pyramid that completely engulfs Urahara and even reflects projectiles. Benihime's energy blasts also become larger and more destructive. In Bleach: Dark Souls, Urahara's shield also possesses the ability to shatter on contact, trapping the opponent in the flying shards.

Benihime's bankai has yet to be revealed, but has been vaguely commented upon. Yoruichi states that Urahara managed to learn bankai in three days using a special training method he invented. When Yasutora Sado comes to Urahara for training, he instead gives the task to Renji Abarai, remarking that Sado needs to face the strength of a bankai to improve. When Renji asks why Urahara, who also possesses one, does not train Sado himself, he states that his bankai is not fit for training others or lending power to them.