Dustin's 
Page O' Tenchi

The Sword

One way or another Tenchi's sword eventually is introduced in each series. It has had three incarnations. During the OVA the sword which was used to remove the three gems from Ryoko was placed in a shrine to keep the demon forever imprisoned. When Yosho's daughter Achika had a bouncing baby boy the child was named after the sword. Thinking that the blade was damaged during the final battle between Ryoko and Yosho the people forged a new blade made of iron. By the time Tenchi finds the sword 700 years later the blade is well rusted and breaks almost immediately after being removed from the scabbard. The power of the sword is still intact however. When he strikes a nearby moss covered rock which has magical runes on it, the sword splits the rock in half. This opens the cave to where Ryoko is imprisoned and still recovering from her battle. Held within the hilt of the sword are the three gems. The power of the gems awoke Ryoko herself.

Tenchiken (The Japanese name for the sword) is also known as "The Master Key". The reason that it is called this is that it was Yosho's control mechanism for this Spaceship Tree, Funaho. Tenchiken, like other spaceship keys comes from the branch of a tree of Jurai. Usually the key is from the tree which it controls. The shape of the key depends on the user. For example Ayeka's key is her tiara. The key Sasami uses is shaped a lot like Label-Maker. Since Yosho was to become the the King of Jurai he received a key from Tsunami, the first spaceship tree. This key can operate all other spaceship trees like a master key hence its name. Since Yosho was a master swordsman trained in Juraian Martial Arts the sword took the form of a Lightsaber-like sword with incredible power.

In the Tenchi Universe the sword appears almost the same. the hilt is smaller and Ryoko's gems are not present. The function is pretty much the same though but it is does not act as a master key for Juraian ships. This sword also appeared in Tenchi Muyo in Love. It was used briefly by Tenchi and by Achika who used it to slay Kain.

The sword also makes another appearance in Tenchi in Tokyo (Shin Tenchi Muyo). In this series the sword takes on an entirely different appearance. Once again the sword is a lightsaber-like sword with a lot of power. This time Tenchi received the sword from his mother before she died. The sword appears as a bunch of crystals of even length. Because of its appearance and sentimental value, Tenchi made a necklace out of it which he wore until the day when he meant all the other characters. During that day he learned the power of the sword and it was split into a number of crystals which he gave to each of his new friends. Each person wears their crystal somewhere on their body.