Background
Imoko no Ono was a member of a powerful family, said to have come from Ono in the district of Shiga in Omi Province; the element ko in his name, though nowadays usually used only in women’s names, was a title of respect.
小野 妹子
Imoko no Ono was a member of a powerful family, said to have come from Ono in the district of Shiga in Omi Province; the element ko in his name, though nowadays usually used only in women’s names, was a title of respect.
On behalf of Prince Shotoku, regent for Empress Suiko, he went in 607 as envoy to the court of Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty in China. In modern Mandarin his name is pronounced like Su Yin-kao.
Japan in its relations with China had been treated as a vassal state, but Ono no Imoko was dispatched with the request that this situation be changed and the two countries deal as equals.
The request was denied, but as a result of the mission, formal trade relations were established with China, and the continental influences that are reflected in the art works of the Horyu-ji and other temples and that make the Asuka so important a period in the development of Japanese culture began to enter the country.
