Chapter 53 Summary

The night when Ukifune attempts to kill herself, the bishop of Uji comes down from his mountain to care for his ill mother. As he walks along the edge of the Uji River, his attendants find a lump of white cloth behind the Uji temple. Unsure what to make of this, they examine it more closely and realize that it is a beautiful young woman leaning against a tree root.

Once again, the disciples are unsure what to make of this, so they decide to undress her in order to learn if she is actually a woman or a fox that has taken on the shape of a human. Upon approaching her, they learn that it is a woman and not a fox attempting to deceive them. In fact, it is Ukifune shortly after her failed attempt to kill herself. Seeing this woman...