Since the death of Aoi, Genji had stopped his visits to the Rokujo lady. She decided to go to Ise with her daughter. It was the beginning of September, and the departure date approached. Genji visited her at the temporary shrine at Sagano. The autumn flowers were gone and insects hummed weakly. A wind blew lonesome through the pine trees. The low wattle fence surrounded the shrines and the gate made of black wood gave an awesome dignity. The prince proffered a branch of the sacred tree, and told her in a poem: "With heart unchanging as this evergreen sacred tree, I entered." After talking through the night, her bitterness was erased.

In the middle of September, the Rokujo lady went down to Ise to escort her daughter. The family expected that she should be the empress in the future, so she had become the late crown prince's wife at sixteen. But at twenty he had left her behind. Now at thirty she left for Ise, filled with all these memories. As the carriages of the ladies were lined up before the mansion of Genji, he sent a poem to be attached to a sacred tree. Then he spent the day alone, sunk in a sad reverie.

The illness of the emperor became worse. Inquiring after his son, the emperor asked Genji to be good to his son and continue the guardianship of his son just as until now. He left his estate to the crown prince and Genji. At the beginning of November, the emperor died peacefully. For Fujitsubo and Genji, it was a greater pain than anybody else. Ladies assembled at the deceased sovereign's palace and performed the service of the forty-ninth day.

As the old emperor had died, Fujitsubo returned to her palace in Sanjo. She commissioned religious services in hopes of freeing herself from Genji's attention. She was very careful not to be approached by him. Genji could manage to find a way to enter her room secretly. She fainted with pain and fell down. But Genji stayed there even the daybreak came. Omyobu and Ben hid Genji in the closet and looked after Fujitsubo. Her brother, Prince Hyobu and her chamberlain came and sent for priests excitedly.

Sulking with the severe refusal of Fujitsubo, Genji went to Unnlinnin Temple where either an older brother or her mother, Koi, presided. Borrowing the uncle's cell for fasting and meditation, he stayed for several days. He gathered erudite monks and listened to their discussions. The color of falling leaves was beautiful. He read the sixty Tendai sutras and reflected on what Fujitsubo thought and on himself. When he returned from the temple, even the lowest people came to see him off.

Fujitsubo performed the memorial services on the anniversary of the old emperor in November. In the Twelfth Month, she organized the reading of eight scrolls. The reading on the first day was dedicated to her father, the late emperor, on the second to her mother, the empress, and on the third to her husband. The third day was a special day, and the monks read the climactic fifth scroll. Prince Hyobu and Genji made a procession with offerings. On the last day, Fujitsubo announced her intention of becoming a nun, which surprised all of them because of the suddenness.

The arbitration of Kokiden became stronger. The minister of the Left resigned to show his protest. Genji and To-no-Chujo were also in obscurity. They seldom went to court. They spent their time reading and playing instruments. On a mild rainy day in summer, To-no-Chujo brought many collections of Chinese poetry. Genji also opened some cases and took out several unusual collections. Inviting court people and doctors, he enjoyed rhyme-guessing games with them.

Oborozukiyo, the lady of the misty moon, was spending some time with her family. Genji met her secretly. One night during a great thunderstorm, the minister of the right happened to enter her room. Oborozukiyo slipped through the curtains in a hurry with a flushed face. He caught the sash of Genji entwined in her skirt. Puzzling, he found a paper of Genji’s writings. Enraged by them, he made a report to Kokiden, which became a scandal.