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February 4[edit]

five rods[edit]

There's a Japanese game(?) involving the 52 partitions of five distinct objects, represented as rods joined (or not) at one end by crossbars. What is its name? —Tamfang (talk) 03:07, 4 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Tamfang: This is the incense-distinguishing game genjikō or gankō (source). Double sharp (talk) 03:34, 4 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. —Tamfang (talk) 05:40, 4 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

...and, the 54 "partitions" (symbols) represent the 54 chapters of Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji). 2606:A000:4C0C:E200:9895:7442:94B7:AB9C (talk) 22:30, 5 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Well, there are only 52 partitions of a five-element set: two of the Genji symbols break the sequence. Double sharp (talk) 01:04, 6 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Curiously, that chart duplicates the symbol that this chart assigns to chapter 10, and shows two forms for the symbol for chapter 29, which flip those of chapters 35 and 42. –Tamfang (talk) 17:17, 8 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]