遣隋遣唐使
600年，为了加强与中国的交往，日本开始向中国派出遣隋使。学习中国佛法和文化制度是派出遣隋使的主要目的。日本曾多次派出遣隋使，为日后大规模派遣遣唐使做好了各方面的准备。
7—9世纪，日本先后向唐朝派出十几次遣唐使团。遣唐使团的构成和规模因时期而不同，每次派遣多达百人以上，有时多达五百余人。遣唐使的派遣目的在于向中国学习。许多律令制度、文化艺术、科学技术、风俗习惯等通过遣唐使传入日本，对日本的社会发展产生了重大影响。
在遣隋遣唐使前往中国长达几百年的学习中，他们不仅将隋唐时期的礼仪、法制、文化带回日本，也让隋唐人民了解到邻邦日本的文化与历史发展，成为中日友好交流史上浓墨重彩的一笔。
Japanese Missions to Sui-Tang China
To increase its contact with China, Japan started to dispatch official envoys to the Sui Dynasty in 600 who were mainly tasked with learning about Chinese Buddhism, culture, and governance. The many missions to Sui China prepared Japan for larger missions to Tang China in every way.
During the 7th and 9th centuries, Japan sent a dozen missions to Tang China on different occasions. Group composition and size varied, but they were invariably large, always exceeding 100 and sometimes over 500 individuals. Tasked with learning from China, the missions brought back myriad laws, bureaucratic practices, culture, art, science, technology, and folk customs which, shaped Japanese society in substantial ways.
The centuries of Japanese missions to Sui-Tang China not only introduced rituals, laws, and culture of Sui-Tang China to Japan but also offered the Sui-Tang Chinese a glimpse of the culture and history of their neighbor Japan, making it a profound event in the history of Sino-Japan friendly exchange.
