The Tendo Dojo (天道道場, Tendō Dōjō?), also translated as the Tendo Training Hall, is the traditional residence of the Tendo family in Furinkan. Technically the term refers to the dojo itself, but is used to refer to the compound including the house and grounds. It is the most frequently seen location in the series.
Genma and Ranma Saotome began living here after they arrived, effectively becoming permanent residents. This leads to an increased degree of activity in and around the dojo due to their interactions with various other characters who come to call. Instances of damage done to the walls, roof, and windows also spiked, usually by characters going through them. Nodoka later moved in after her home was destroyed.
Overview[]
The layout of the house and dojo.
Despite being located in the middle of a city, the dojo, home, and grounds themselves take up a decent amount of space. The entire area is surrounded by a stone wall topped with blue tiles. As there is only one primary gate, a common means for several characters to arrive is either by jumping over the wall or smashing through it, usually through the section opposite the living room. However, a curved footpath connecting the dojo and a possible rear gate can be seen in several episodes. For example, in OVA 6, after Natsume and Kurumi beat Akane and and Ranma and temporarily take over the dojo, they placed a sign at the front gate to guide telling all challengers to use the rear gate.
The dojo was repossessed to pay for Nabiki's first date with Kinnosuke Kashao, but she regained it by defeating him on their second date.
The dojo is within walking distance of the other locations in Furinkan where other characters are interacted with, such as Dr. Tofu's Clinic, Furinkan High School, the Cat Café, and Okonomiyaki Ucchan's. It is also close to some public baths that have been used on occasion.
Dojo[]
The dojo is separate from the house and is centered around a large hall for sparring or fights. The calligraphy at the front of of the dojo underneath a shrine reads "Iroha" (いろは, "Iroha"?) meaning "fundamentals".
Akane tends to practice here and it was where she and Ranma and had their first sparring bout. They also nearly kissed here after Ranma used the Nekoken for the first time, but were interrupted by Nabiki, who was watching with everyone else. Ryoga Hibiki taught Ranma Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics here and they ended up battling all night. Ranma and Akane fought the Dojo Destroyer here as well as Natsume and Kurumi twice. Although he and his father tend to hold their morning sparring session over the koi pond, the dojo was also used by Genma to train Ranma in the Umisenken and was where he unveiled his Cradle from Hell technique.
Due to its size, the dojo was also used to host a Christmas party in OVA 2. In the manga, Akane and Ranma were to have been married here until the wedding got derailed.
Grounds[]
The grounds are composed of a lawn, on which are planted several trees and bushes. The most notable feature is a koi pond with a stone tōrō next to it that has stepping stones leading to the former from the house. Genma and Ranma usually begin their morning by sparring over the pond, usually resulting in one or both of them falling in. They also tend to throw the other into it when in the living room and they get upset. When Nodoka used to visit and they were trying to hide from her, they would also throw themselves in here voluntarily. There are also occasionally some targets in the form of tatami omote rolls at various places used by Akane for martial arts practicing in the morning, especially after she is aggravated by Ranma.
House[]
The house is a traditional two story Japanese home. It suffers varying degrees of damage during the series. Ranma and Happosai have been kicked through the ceiling multiple times. In the manga it was severely damaged by Pantyhose Taro and Rouge.
The downstairs consists of the following:
- Laundry room and bathroom: This consists of a laundry room which is passed through to access the bathroom, which includes a furo. The residents or visiting guests are commonly depicted soaking in the furo, which is large enough for three people to soak in at once. The cursed characters prefer to use this as a method of changing back and getting cleaned up. It faces a window, which provides another means of exit and entry.
- Genkan: The main entrance, where guests and residents leave their shoes before stepping inside.
- Kitchen: Kasumi is seen cooking here very often both in the manga and the anime. It has a noren in place of a door and a door to the backyard.
The washitsu with the shōji open.
- Washitsu: A large room that serves as both a living and dining room and the most commonly seen location in the house, as the family spends a lot of time here. It faces a walkway and depending on the time of the year and the weather, the shōji facing the surrounding wall and the outer doors can be opened to give a view of the pond and garden and allow people to sit on the walkway. There is a TV in this room. The table is used as a dining table and has been used by Akane to hit Ranma with. Soun and Genma tend to spend their time in this room playing shogi or go. When he was training in the Umisenken, Ranma took out the foundation of this room while the family was eating.
- Happosai's room: A large room facing the kitchen used by Happosai. It is believed that Soun used to live in this room as he is seen peeping out from the window facing the genkan. Also this is the largest room of the entire compound and it also has a roofed deck, so it is likely the room belonging to the master of the house. It is not clear whether Happosai takes this room by force or Soun voluntarily lets him use it.
- Soun's room: This is a tiny room connected to the washitsu. It may have served as a guest room before Happosai moved in. As is typical in Japanese homes, it may be an extension of the washitsu, usable for general living with the shōji open, or used separately with them closed. In the episode 124, Ryoga Hibiki and the Yuki Onna are seen resting in this room.
The second floor consists of the following:
Akane's room
Genma and Ranma's room
- Akane's room: The most commonly seen bedroom in the series. Ranma usually enters or exits this room through the window, in the latter case usually by being punched through it. When he wants to see Akane he will typically approach from the roof and hang outside upside down outside the window or perch on the sill, possibly so that no one else in the house can see him, as the family has a tendency to attempt to spy on him and Akane when they are alone together.
- Genma and Ranma's room: A guest room; which does not have beds, unlike the other bedrooms. The Saotomes sleep on the floor.
- Kasumi's room
- Nabiki's room
- Balcony: It is believed that there is a balcony somewhere in the second floor as it can be seen in many TV and OVA episodes. For example, the Tendo family observe a meteor shower from here in Tendo Family Christmas Scramble and in episode 110, Akane hits the balcony in anger, destroying it. It is commonly believed that the balcony is attached to the deck outside Akane's room, however its exact location is disputed as it can be seen to have a door connecting to the inside of the house but the door is not clearly depicted from an internal view angle from Akane's room. The supposed entrance of the balcony in Akane's room is usually seen to be Akane's closet. It is also possible in some sense that the balcony is located at the end of the hallway outside Akane's room, but still has not been observed from inside. For example in episode 44, when Ranma, Happosai, Soun and Genma engage into a chaotic battle at the end of the hallway there is no sign of such an entrance.
The layout of the second floor varies slightly across the series; in Here's Ranma!, Ranma and Kasumi are seen turning 180 degrees at the top of the stairs, while later diagrams, such as the one above, show the hallway running perpendicular.
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