In 1975, he passed on the name Kansai FUJIMA (II) to his eldest son Tatsunosuke, who became the fifth head of the style, however in 1987 Tatsunosuke, on whom his father had pinned his hopes, passed away, and in Shoroku's later years he cannot be said to have had an abundance of successors (although his students included Kikugoro ONOE (VII) and Matsusuke ONOE (VI), and in particular Kikugoro (VII) took on the lead roles after Tatsunosuke's death).
1975年、二世藤間勘斎を名のって五世家元を長男辰之助に譲ったが、1987年、期待をかけていたその辰之助に先立たれ、晩年は必ずしも後継者に恵まれたとは言いがたいものだった（それでも弟子には尾上菊五郎(7代目)や尾上松助(6代目)などがおり、とくに七代目菊五郎は辰之助の死から立役に転じたとされる）。