He became the subject of a number of legends describing his encounters with supernatural beings, such as the oni of Rashōmon and the goddess Benzaiten, as well as with pursuit of immortality.

[6] While according to a legend present in many historical biographies of Michizane Yoshika first met him at a banquet he organized, during which he declared that his archery skills are a sign he will perform well in his upcoming examination, there is no evidence such an event ever occurred.

[9] However, Borgen stresses that Yoshika's judgment was not unusually harsh, and awarding low passing grades to candidates was the norm through the entire ninth century and did not mean the examiners saw them as unskilled.

[8] In 871 they have been entrusted with determining together if emperor Seiwa should follow his late grandmother's wish to not be mourned to the full extent expected by tradition.

[1] According to the Gōdanshō, a late Heian collection of anecdotes and poetry commentaries by Ōe no Masafusa and Fujiwara no Sanekane [jp], Yoshika had a son named Arinaka (在中) who became a poet and scholar like him, but the dates of his birth and death are unknown.

[1] Anecdotes preserved in the Gōdanshō, Kokon Chomonjū and Jikkinshō [ja] indicate he was particularly renowned for his kanshi (poems composed in Chinese), though he also wrote waka.

[26] However, in this version no meeting occurs: while the tale deals with the oni being moved by a poem composed by Yoshika, he hears it when a nameless horseman recites it while passing under the gate.

[27] A similar legend can be found in the Honchō Shinsen-den (本朝神仙伝; "Accounts of Japanese Immortals"), though there the oni resides in Suzakumon rather than Rashōmon.

[31] Further similar versions are known from thirteenth century Senjūshō [ja] and early sixteenth century Hokekyō Shūrin Shūyōshō (法華經鷲林拾葉鈔; "Commentary on Lotus Sutra, Collected from Vulture Woods"), though the oni resides in Suzakumon in them, which according to Noriko Reider might indicate a degree of confusion or interchangeability between legends about Yoshika and Ki no Haseo, as tales about the latter encountering an oni interested in fine arts at either Suzakumon or Rashōmon are also known.

[37] According to Christoph Kleine and Livia Kohn it is possible that Masafusa aimed to create a Japanese equivalent of Chinese compilations of legends about immortals out of intellectual curiosity and national pride, as opposed to religious conviction.

[32] According to Masafusa, Yoshika was born in Kyoto and from a young age displayed unusual physical abilities, such as being able to run faster than a galloping horse.

[44] As recorded in Fukurozōshi [ja] and Jikkinshō, he began composing a poem while visiting a shrine dedicated to her, but could not finish it until the goddess revealed a suitable ending to him in the form of an oracle.

[45] Bernard Faure suggests the tale might be related to a legend recorded in Fusō Kogo Ryōishū (扶桑古語霊異集), in which Yoshika visited the village of Hira at the shore of lake Biwa in 865, and encountered a white-haired old man (possibly the local deity Shirahige Myōjin) who taught him about various events from the history of the Ise and Hie shrines.