Emperor Takakura abdicates the throne in response to pressure from Kiyomori. Antoku, who is Kiyomori’s grandson, replaces him. The Taira now are maternal relatives of the emperor. The Taira rejoice in the new power, but the general populace is unhappy that Takakura was forced to cede power prematurely (he is only 20).
Takakura decides to make his first pilgrimage as retired emperor to Itsukushima Shrine in Aki. On his way, Takakura visits his father, Go-Shikakawa at Toba.
Although this episode is about pilgrimage, the mournful tone as Takakura leaves the capital is more reminiscent of the exilic stories that have filled Book Three in particular.
Takakura dedicates sacred texts and commissions bugaku dances at Itsukushima. However, when the time comes to leave, the party is faced with strong winds preventing their boat from embarking. They conclude that the deity opposes their departure, so Lieutenant Takafusa appeases them with a poem, calming the sea. He lingers at multiple stops on the way, reluctant to return.
The new emperor formally takes office.
We first meet Prince Mochihito (also called the Takakura Prince), Go-Shirakawa’s second son, in this episode. He would seem to be a better candidate for Emperor than Antoku: he is an adult and a man of intelligence and sensitivity But he has been overlooked in favor of the Taira grandson. He is living in the Konoe-Kawara district. We are then introduced to the aged Minamoto warrior Yorimasa, who proposes to provide military support to enthrone Mochihito and topple Antoku. He presents the first long list in the tale, enumerating Minamoto family members and partisans who would support this effort. Mochihito is at first hesitant, but then agrees to have Yorimasa rally the Minamoto. However, news of the revolt leaks to Tanzo, superintendent of Kumano and a Taira supporter, who takes a thousand men to Shingu, but his forces are defeated by the Minamoto.
Go-Shirakawa has now been at Toba for two years. A strange occurrence occurs: weasels "ran riot in his quarters." This is interpreted as an omen, and Abe no Yasuchika, head of the Yin-Yang Office, is called upon to interpret it. Yasuchika predicted that Go-Shirakawa would experience joy and sorrow in the next three days.
The joy is that Kiyomori allowed him to move to the residence of Bifukumon-in, his mother, in the capital. The sorrow is that Mochihito is rebelling, and the Taira have been informed before the plot is fully in place. Yorimasa's son Kanetsuna is among the men sent to arrest Mochihito, since Kiyomori doesn't yet know that Yorimasa is behind the plot.
The prince Mochihito heard from Yorimasa's messenger that the rebellion plan is is already known by Kiyomori. The enemy is going to attack Mochihito. So he dressed like a woman to escape from this house. Nobutsura, as his officer of the Watch, chose to stay and fight. Nobutsura fought alone with Nagamitsu’s underlings, killing fourteen of them, but finally is caught. Kiyomori banishes him rather than having him executed.
Prince Mochihito reaches Miidera. The rest of the episode is a regression describing Yorimasa's motivation for inciting rebellion. Yorimasa's son had a beautiful horse, coveted by Taira no Munemori, Kiyomori's eldest surviving son. Munemori ordered Nakatsuna to turn over the horse, and when he did, Munemori branded it "Nakatsuna" and mistreated it. Nakatsuna's retainer Kiō had been left behind when Yorimasa and his men ran to join Prince Mochihito at Miidera. Kiō feigns loyalty to Munemori, begs a horse from him to ride against Yorimasa, then delivers the horse to Nakatsuna. Nakatsuna cuts off its tail and mane, brands it the "shaven-pate novice, Munemori" and sends it back to Munemori.
Monks are convened in Miidera. They decided to condemn Kiyomori’s tyranny. They send two appeals, one to the Enryakuji, one to the Kōfukuji, to ask for their help to fight against Kiyomori. This episode contains the letter to Enryakuji.
Monks of Mount Hiei read the appeal, but they find the tone presumptuous and do not reply. Kiyomori commands Meiun, the Enryakuji abbot, not to allow the monks to support Miidera. He also gives them rice and silk as gifts. The appeal to Kōfukuji, included as the main body of this episode, is received positively, by contrast, and Kōfukuji agrees to offer help to the prince Mochihito and Miidera to fight against Kiyomori in another document embedded in the episode.
The Monks of Miidera gather together and discuss military strategies of how to attack Kiyomori. Shinkai, a supporter of Kiyomori, tries to slow the debate, but he is eventually overruled and the monks set off to attack.
A thousand men under Minamoto no Yorimasa set out for Mount Nyoi. Among them are his sons, Nakatsuna and Kanetsuna. The force leads Prince Mochihito from Miidera, setting up defensive fortifications along the way to protect the routes into Kyoto from attack from the city. Dawn is breaking, however, and they pull back, afraid to attack Kiyomori's Rokuhara villa in broad daylight. Angered by Shinkai's stalling tactics earlier in the night, monks attack his quarters, kill some of his supporters, and Shinkai escapes for Rokuhara. Mochihito, worried that they will be attacked, decides they should go to Kōfukuji, and the small army heads for Nara.
Prince Mochihito falls off his horse repeatedly as he is fleeing, which is a bad omen. When he gets to Uji he takes a rest at Byōdōin, on the west side of the Uji river. The monks pull up the planks of the bridge they have fled over. The Taira forces from the capital come in hot pursuit, and a very showy battle is fought on the skeleton of the bridge. The Taira are eventually able to swim horses across the river under the direction of Ashikaga Tadatsuna.
The battle continues, and the Taira, under Ashikaga, successfully cross the river. Yorimasa is incapacitated by an arrow and retreats to commit suicide. His sons, Nakatsuna and Kanetsuna, cover him as he retreats. Kanetsuna is killed in battle, while Nakatsuna is able to commit suicide. Yorimasa then composes a "death poem" -- one voicing his bitterness -- and commits suicide. His head is hidden from the enemy. Prince Mochihito flees toward Nara, but is killed when he reaches Kōmyōzen gate. His body is carried victoriously back to the capital. The Kōfukuji monks, realizing that they are too late to help the prince, turn back, just a league short of where Mochihito was killed.
Prince Mochihito’s head was brought back and verified. Kiyomori sent his brother, Yorimori, to retrieve one of Mochihito's young sons by Sanmi-no-tsubone from the estate of the Hachijo Princess whom Sanmi-no-tsubone served. The Hachijo Princess tried to protect the boy. Kiyomori was about to send warriors to search the Hachijo Princess’s place, but the boy told the princess to surrender him to avoid more troubles. The princess surrenders him with great sadness and fear. At Rokuhara, Munemori feels pity for the young boy and begs for his life. Kiyomori allowed and ordered him to become a priest. The little boy later became the head Toji (temple).
Another son of Prince Mochihito was made a monk by his guardian and escaped to the north. We learn that later, he would be brought back to the capital by Kiso no Yoshinaka (who occupies the capital in Book Seven)
The narrator recalls other successful physiognomist predictions and laments that the man who read Mochihito's face was so wrong about his fate.
This eulogistic episode remembers the poetic and military prowess of Minamoto no Yorimasa. It is an example of a monster subjugation story, and one of the more famous ones in Japanese culture. Twice during the reigns of former emperors, Yorimasa had been called upon to vanquish a nue monster ("nightbird") tormenting the emperor. Yorimasa is successful both times, and on each occasion is lauded as well for composing an appropriate poem. He is rewarded with rank, but never ascends to a level he thinks he deserves. The narrator concludes with the lament that Yorimasa was so foolish to end his days (and Mochihito's) by such a foolish rebellion.
The Taira under the command of Kiyomori's fourth son Shigehira burn Miidera, causing immense damage to Buddhist properties and the deaths of many monks. Following the fire, many more monks are arrested, demoted, or banished.