AstroNerdBoy wrote:
> OK, if Tenchi-ken is Funaho-ki's key and Juraians need keys to
> interface with their tree, why give the sword to Tenchi?

Tenchi didn't have a weapon to fight Kagato (at least not one that he 
knew about, and he had to believe he was at least a little armed in 
order to have the confidence to take on Kagato). Also, Yosho was 
(apparently) trying to pass on his role as Crown Prince to Tenchi, and 
since Juraian succession is based on power, Tenchi would need to be made 
more powerful than Yosho in order for Aeka to buy the act...also, 
handing over the sword helps make the "old man Yosho" act more plausible 
to all. And of course Tenchi probably did need a key in order to 
interface with Ryu-Oh and (more importantly) so that Tsunami could keep 
track of him. Yosho was also basically handing over the role of Ryoko's 
caretaker to Tenchi, which entailed formally giving him control of the 
gems. And besides, it's not like Yosho (and other Juraians) can't 
communicate with the trees and use their power sans a key; Yosho's has 
been locked up in a cave at least since Tenchi was a kid, yet he's kept 
up the old man illusion all this time. Also, he's able to arrive at the 
scene of the battle with Kagato in episode 5 and summon the sword to him 
without apparently holding another key...so it seems that for his 
purposes, at least, Yosho doesn't feel he needs a key.

> He is in effect, giving up his control over Funaho.  This also seems
> puzzling since we mostly seem to agree that Yosho didn't give
> Funaho-ki to Tenchi.  The reason most folks think that Funaho-ki was
> given to Tenchi was because Tenchi-ken was given to him.  If
> Tenchi-ken was Funaho-ki's, one can understand why they'd think that.

Yosho didn't really give the tree Funaho to Tenchi in exactly the same 
way he gave Funaho's key to Tenchi for a number of reasons:
1) Funaho supposedly can't go anywhere (unlike the key)
2) Funaho does have a mind, and is thus not just an object to be traded 
(unlike the key)
3) Tenchi doesn't really need a tree for any length of time; the point 
of the whole exercise with Kagato (besides generally cleaning up the 
galaxy) is to get Tenchi to awaken his powers.

> While I can't account for 100% of keys used, all of the ones we have
> seen used have been in physical contact with the user. Tenchi did use
> Tenchi-ken to activate Ryu-oh's LHW's, but he had to be inside
> Ryu-oh's container to control her AND he was all but touching
> Tenchi-ken.

Incorrect - Tenchi-ken is active three times. without any contact. One 
time is in episode 5, when Yosho calls the key to him (and away from 
Kagato). Another is in episode 6, when the key seems to act as a beacon 
so Tsunami can find Tenchi (or what's left of him). But the first, and 
by far the most convincing, is when Tenchi-ken activates to protect him 
while within Tenchi's briefcase/school bag in episode 1.

> Second, why did Kagato recognize Tenchi-ken?  Why did he call the
> sword the "king's property" (OK, I'm being forced to rely on
> Pioneer's translations but that's all I have to go on at present)?
> And how did Kagato get the idea that Tenchi-ken was what he wanted?
> If the sword was Funaho-ki's, it wasn't around all that long before
> disappearing.  And did Yosho do anything with it (battle wise) prior
> to his battle with Ryoko?

Juraian design is fairly distinct, and an energy blade stands out...and 
Kagato had fought Azusa before, so he had some idea what to look for. 
I'm pretty certain that Kagato had enough information to know that 
Yosho's tree was quite powerful, which would make its key very useful to 
him. As for the bit about the "king's property", I have no idea (I'm not 
sure if it's Pioneer's translation, or that there were some changes in 
series concept from those early episodes, or perhaps something else).

Alan Zabaro