Genji spent life comforting his easily disturbed feelings. Only memories of Murasaki came to him. The spring, Murasaki’s favorite season, came around again. "My cherry", Niou said proudly, who was also her favorite boy. Looking at his pretty face, Genji could not stop smiling. Niou was his one companion.

Genji sometimes visited the Third Princess, the Akashi lady, and the lady of orange blossom, which gave him a vicarious hint of Murasaki. There still seemed to be one lady to whom he was not indifferent. That was Chujo, who had worked for Murasaki. It was about the time of the Kamo festival; when he came in she was having a nap. Genji said, picking up a sprig of hollyhock, "It is so long since I have had anything to do with it", to the lady, who made haste to put herself in order.

The Tenth Month was always a time of gloomy winter showers. Genji felt more lonesome than ever. Looking up into the evening sky helplessly alone, he envied the wild geese overhead, which were returning home. "O wizard flying off through boundless heaven, find her whom I see not even in my dreams." The inconsolable days went by, and his longing for Murasaki increased.