Back in the capital, Genji became Acting Major Counselor and was soon promoted to Palace Minister. At Akashi a daughter was born, and Genji sent a nurse to raise her with great care.
That autumn, Genji went on pilgrimage to Sumiyoshi Taisha to fulfill the vows he had made in his trials at Suma and Akashi. The procession was so grand that the whole world was in an uproar, and senior nobles and courtiers vied to go with him.
On that very day, the Akashi Lady, as she did every year, had come by boat to worship at Sumiyoshi. Reaching the shore, she saw the shore overflowing with a noisy crowd of worshipers. People bearing offerings stood in lines; the costumes of the musicians and dancers were beautiful, and the guards of the Inner Palace Guards looked splendid. When she asked, "Whose pilgrimage is this?", even the lowliest laughed proudly: "Why, the Palace Minister has come to give thanks for his vows. Is there anyone who doesn't know?"
"Of all days to come on this one," she thought. "Seeing him from afar only makes me feel how low I am," and she grew very sad. Among the green robes she could see the youthful figure of Koremitsu. Genji's carriage was far away, and she could not see him, and her heart was heavy. Without making her offerings, the Akashi Lady had the boat rowed back toward Naniwa.
When Genji heard of this later, he felt very sorry for her and sent her a poem: "Giving my all (miotsukushi) in longing, and as a sign of it we came upon each other even here: how deep our bond must be." (Because I long for you with all my heart, we met even here at Naniwa, where the channel buoys, miotsukushi, stand: our bond must be deep.) The chapter title "Channel Buoys" (Miotsukushi) comes from this poem.