Having sent a letter to Kamakura, Yoshitsune waits for a reply from Yoritomo in vain. In Kamakura, Yoritomo and his retainers discuss what to do with the letter from Yoshitsune which was actually addressed to one of the retainers, Oeno Hiromoto. Masako suggests Yoritomo that he read the letter and see Yoshitsune, but Yoritomo resolutely rejects it. Being unable to bear to watch Yoshitsune keep waiting for Yoritomo’s reply, Yoshitsune’s retainers try to figure out what is going on in Kamakura. Yoshitsune persuades them to contain themselves while he starts rethinking the way of his life. Around that time, Yoritomo is handed the letter from Hiromoto and starts considering whether to read it or not. One day, Tokimasa, Masako’s father, visits Yoshitsune at Koshigoe, bringing Munemori and Kiyomune. Tokimasa tells Yoshitsune Yoritomo’s command to take the head of the Heike family and the son back to Kyoto.
頼朝（中井貴一）への思いを手紙にしたため、鎌倉へ送った義経（滝沢秀明）。しかし頼朝からの返事はなく、弁慶（松平健）ら郎党たちも日々いらだちを募らせる。一度は義経からの書状を読まないと公言した頼朝だったが、書状を受け取っていた大江広元（松尾貴史）から「自分一人では抱えきれない」とひそかに書状を渡されてしまう。ついに義経からの書状を手にした頼朝は、その書状を読むかどうか深く悩み始める。
