The dispatch of envoys to China was resumed one century after the tributary envoys to the Southern Dynasty sent by the five kings of Wa (Japan), with the primary purpose of learning about Sui culture, as they were a key and leading country in East Asia, but also with the intention of maintaining Japanese influence over the Korean Peninsula.
倭の五王による南朝への奉献以来約1世紀を経て再開された遣隋使の目的は、東アジアの中心国・先進国である隋の文化の摂取が主であるが、朝鮮半島での影響力維持の意図もあった。