Tenchi Academy



Tenchi Academy is a very large private boarding school for girls, unique in that it hosts a program for sword bearing students. Most of the story’s characters attend the academy as sword bearers in this program, participating in the Hoshitori for money and power, among other reasons. The school and its program are financed by Amachi Industries, a very rich company. Its symbol looks much like a star with "heaven" ( 天 ) written on it.

The academy provides compulsory education for girls in grades 7-12, as well as very adequate dormitories and living conditions. It also accepts students from other nationalities, an example being Ju Ensuu, who is from China. Along with the central building, there are courtyards, bathhouses, numerous dormitories, etc. The facilities on campus cover all of the students needs, and it is really a very rich environment, almost like a little town in and of itself.

In thewords of Hayate, “This place is really big, y’know? Just one lap around the central campus building is over three kilometers!”

Of course, the most impressive thing about Tenchi Academy is its system of government. Rather than being run by a school board, or even by adults, the academy is run by whichever student is the dean at the time. Even the teachers at the Academy are under the control of this person, who right now happens to be Amachi Hitsugi. She does have a student council, but this is mostly just to help her decide on unimportant things. The dean, or Kaicho as she is more commonly known, is the one who decides everything in the end.

At the moment, the only way to remove the current dean is to beat them and their partner in a sword fighting match. The winner becomes the new dean, and so may do whatever they want with the Academy.

The main staple of the academy’s system of government is the power of students over the situations they are placed in, even if they are made to follow rules created by their crazy Kaicho. They are still allowed to exercise their rights and freedoms when on academy grounds, even in the face of adults.

This one exchange between Madam Shizuma and Hitsugi says it all very clearly:

Hitsugi: “Here, a student’s will means all. I’m afraid that once a student has decided upon a course of action, no other may refute them.”

Madam Shizuma: “But… It stands to reason that in matters of a minor’s welfare, one defers to the guardian’s decision! A school that ignores that is crazy!”

Hitsugi: “Yes, perhaps. And Tenchi Academy certainly does have its unorthodox methods. Therefore, when a student decides to enroll in such an institution, placing themselves in our care, it is a decision made from the heart. And anyone capable of choosing their own life path is no longer a child, but a fully independent adult.”