After entering China, Buddhism was introduced into Japan through Korean Peninsula by monks in 538.

Jian Zhen, the well-known monk in China was invited to Japan to give lectures in 742. After five failures of going east to Japan, he finally got to Japan at the sixth time in 753, when he was 65 years old. In the East Temple in Japan, he built the altar where he preached for the then emperor, empress, prince of Japan and more than five hundred monks. Later, he established Buddhist rites for Buddhism in Jietan Court of the East Temple and the Tangzhaoti Temple, hence normally introducing Buddhism into Japan. Jian Zhen also brought knowledge on architecture, sculpture, painting, calligraphy and medicine into Japan. His stories are still much-told in current cultural exchanges between China and Japan.

The Tang Dynasty saw the peak of cultural exchanges between China and Japan. Japan learned and transplanted Chinese culture into its own culture. Encouraged by the then Japanese dominant class, Japan was introduced with Chinese architecture arts, painting, music and dance. Japanese even imitated the living habit of Chinese people in Tang Dynasty in terms of food, housing, transportation and other customs. Now in Nara and Kyoto, the Nara capital Pingchengjing and Ping'an capital Ping'anjing, modeling on the layout of Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty, still exist.

Kyoto

The art of calligraphy of Wang Xizhi and his son Wang Xianzhi and Ouyang Xun were also introduced into Japan and prevailed at a time, causing a fever of imitation. The appearance of the so-called Three Calligraphers reflected that Japanese calligraphy got the gist and extract of that of the Tang Dynasty after learning from Chinese calligraphy.

Japan continuously sent its envoys to China, as well as exchange students, monks, painters and various technicians, to enhance cultural and academic exchanges between the two countries. A Japanese scholar named Abeno Nakamaro (with a Chinese name of Chao Heng) built strong friendship with Li Bai, the famous poet of Tang Dynasty. When rumor said that Chao Heng was dead for misadventure, Li Bai was so sad that he wrote a poem in memory of this Japanese friend.