Oran Looney delves into the fascinating world of Genji-kō, a parlor game involving incense appreciation that originated from Muromachi-era Japanese nobles. This intricate game challenged players to identify matching scents among five samples, using a special notation called Genji-mon. The rules for creating Genji-mon involved drawing vertical and horizontal lines to denote incense groupings. While the game appears complex, the cultural influence of Genji-mon extends beyond gameplay, appearing in contemporary Japanese art and design. Through a mathematical lens, the author explores the number of unique partitions, known as Bell numbers, that can be created from a set of elements.
https://www.oranlooney.com/post/genji-ko/