There has been a long Chinese Japanese historical relationship. China has been very influential throughout history regarding Japanese culture. Once the relationship began, the Japanese people learned many customs from China, including their different architectural methods, their philosophies and even religious beliefs. While there had been aspects of China that had been introduced to the Japanese people before, when an open trading system was brought to its country in the 19th century, even more aspects were assimilated from the Chinese culture.
It was during the Sui and Tang Dynasties that many Japanese people found themselves making Imperial embassies to China. These individuals were students and the purpose of these diplomatic missions was to help establish Japan as a sovereign nation in the Northeast part of Asia and to put a good foot forward in the relations between China and Japan. These students brought back many different important elements from China. Those included Chinese customs and many elements of the Chinese culture, including religion.
Over the years there have been times when Chinese Japanese relations have been strained. There have also been times in which the country has lent economic assistance to China. In recent years the Japanese government has considered not providing such assistance any longer, as China is able to offer assistance to others. They have also considered dropping assistance to China because part of the money funds their military and they do not want to help fund a military that might be used against them at some point.
There has long been a reoccurring Chinese Japanese relationship in many ways. In years past, Japan has received many different cultural elements from China. Some of these elements have appeared through trades between China and the Japan. Some of the elements have also been brought to its country through students who visited the Chinese Imperial Embassy over the years.
The relationship between China and Japan has become strained because Japan has been active in offering assistance to China when they felt that there was a need. However, due to the factor that China is able to offer assistance to other countries and the fact that much of the assistance is used to fund their military, Japan now feels that their assistance is no long needed. Regardless, it is safe to say that a lot of China Japan cultural exchanges have been made, leading to cultural growth in both countries.