Mulhern speculates that her remarks about Izumi were not so much directed at Izumi's poetry but at her behavior, lack of morality and her court liaisons, of which Murasaki disapproved.
Mulhern berspekulasi bahwa komentarnya tentang Izumi tidak terlalu banyak ditujukan kepada puisi hasil karya Izumi, tetapi kepada perilakunya, kurangnya moralitas dan koneksinya di istana yang tidak disetujui Murasaki.