Very little is known about Henjō (816-?890), beyond the bare outlines of his life. As Yoshimine no Munesada, he served at the court of Emperor Nimmyô and took orders after his death. His aristocratic birth assured rapid promotion and he eventually reached the rank of sôjô, the highest position it was within the court’s power to grant to a religious, hence he is usually given the appelation of ‘Archbishop’ in English. Ki no Tsurayuki named him as one of the ‘Six Poetic Sages’ in his preface to the Kokinshū, but only 35 poems of his survive in it and other anthologies. Today, he is best known for his bantering poetic exchanges with his contemporary, Ono no Komachi.

Henjô has the following poems in the Japan 2001 Waka: