Washu, the self-proclaimed greatest scientist in the Universe, first appears in episode 6 of Tenchi Muyo. She was trapped inside a crystal on the "Mirrorside" of Kagato's spaceship and was released for the first time in 5000 years.
Despite her age of 20,000 years, Washu mostly presents herself as a girl in her early teens but can change her physical appearance to an adult form at will.
The reason behind this is that her child and husband were taken from her. Since her husband came from a prestigious family, Washu was not granted the social status required by the family. Thus, she was forbidden from being with her family. Her disdain for these "adult rules" is why she prefers to appear as a child.
Her child was Mikumo Kuramitsu, who is the great-grandfather of Mihoshi, making Mihoshi Washu's great-granddaughter.
Washu is responsible for creating Soja, Ryo-ohki, and Ryoko. Using her own egg cell as a base for Ryoko's creation, Washu became Ryoko's mother. Like Ryoko, Washu can create energy swords and blasts at will. She also has a telekinetic link with Ryo-ohki and Ryoko, allowing her to read their memories to some extent. However, this ability is not perfect, as shown in episode 10 when she needed to connect Ryo-ohki to a machine to read its thoughts. She can also create interdimensional portals near herself to dispose of and create objects (shown in episode 8).
Her main goal is discovering the source of Tenchi's power. She will go to almost any extent to use him as a guinea pig for her experiments, often stripping him down to his underwear when it’s not necessary.
Washu (Washu-Kami-Sama) is one of the Choshin Goddesses along with Tsunami and Tokimi. However, she gave up her immortality and powers to unlock the secrets of the universe. Washu-Kami-Sama had three gems containing her power and memories. These are the same gems Ryoko uses for her powers.
