[2] As a teenager Haseo studied under Miyako no Yoshika and Ōkura no Yoshiyuki [ja], but his career in the subsequent decade of his life remains poorly known, and he only entered the academy in 876.

[4] In 884 Haseo was declared a graduate student at the recommendation of Michizane, who in his evaluation favorably compared him to Yan Hui, the favorite disciple of Confucius.

[7] As a scholar Haseo for the most part abstained from factional disputes, though he was viewed unfavorably by Miyoshi no Kiyoyuki due to positive treatment he received from Michizane.

[9] The reasons behind this decision are unclear,[10] though it is possible the high cost of official missions and the proliferation of contacts with private Chinese traders granting Japan access to luxury goods without the need to send envoys to the continent were among the factors.

[3] Like many other middle Heian poets, including Miyako no Yoshika, Shimada no Tadaomi [ja], Ono no Takamura and Sugawara no Michizane, he was influenced by the works of Bai Juyi.

[24] In Honchō Shinsen-den (本朝神仙伝; "Accounts of Japanese Immortals"), Ōe no Masafusa states that the included version of the former story is merely an abridged retelling of Haseo's.

[3] One example is the Honmyō Saimon (本命祭文), which focuses on Chinese deities invoked to extend a person's lifespan, such as Siming, Silu (司禄), Tiancao (天曹), Difu (地府), Hebo (河伯) and Shuiguan (水官).

[27][28] Richard H. Okada points out that he was well versed with kanbun and familiar with literary motifs pertaining to Daoist immortals, assumed to be an influence on this tale.

[29] He also highlights that some of his works, like the poem Song of a Destitute Woman, show an unusual degree of concern for the position of women in society, which he argues to be an element visible in Taketori Monogatari as well.

[33] The earliest versions have been identified in Zoku Kyōkunshō (続教訓抄), a musical treatise written at some point after 1270 by the court musician Koma no Tomokazu (狛朝葛; 1247–1331), and in a number of commentaries on the anthology Wakan Rōeishū.

[41] Haseo soon realizes he is not playing against a human, as the previously disguised stranger gradually reveals his true form as an oni to him due to the stakes of the game making him emotional.

[42] He nonetheless eventually manages to win, and the oni introduces him to a young woman, warning him that despite her beauty he needs to be cautious, as it would be unsafe to make love to her sooner than in exactly a hundred days.

[45] Three months later Haseo encounters the oni again, but this time he acts hostile towards him, prompting him to call upon the protection of Tenjin,[46] the deified Sugawara no Michizane.

[35] The oni is repelled, and the narrator reveals that he regretted entrusting the woman to Haseo and that she was created by him from pieces of corpses and would only gain a soul after 100 days.

[48] The creation of a new person from pieces of corpses is also described as a skill of oni in a legend recorded in the Senjūshō [ja] in which Saigyō after hearing about it attempts to replicate the process of Mount Kōya.

[39] While both authors remain largely faithful to the original legend, they omit the appearance of Tenjin, and instead focus on portraying the oni as acting friendly towards Haseo as a fellow connoisseur of the fine arts.

[53] Another legend from the same collection (volume 28, story 29) portrays Haseo as a talented scholar who is nonetheless unfamiliar with onmyōdō, and as a result ignores the advice of an onmyōji who divines that he will encounter a harmless oni, who turns out to be a dog who disturbs a meeting held by him.