After recovering from his illness, Kiyomori enters the Buddhist priesthood with his wife Tokiko. Kiyomori decides to move his base to Fukuhara to live closer to a port, which surprises the Taira family. In February 1168, Prince Norihito, the son of the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa and Shigeko, ascends the throne and becomes Emperor Takakura--the first Emperor related to the Taira family. However, after Shigeko is granted the title of Empress Dowager, the power balance within the Taira family begins to change. Meanwhile in Izu, Yoritomo, who is driven to despair after his son was killed, meets Hojo Masako, the daughter of Hojo Tokimasa from a local powerful family.