Images of the Buddha were probably first imported by monks sent from China and the Buddhist sculpture of Korea is indebted to prototypes developed in India, Central Asia, and China. From these influences, a distinctive Korean style formed. Korean Buddhas typically exhibit Korean facial characteristics, were made with native casting and carving techniques, and employed only some of the motifs that were developed earlier in Buddhist art. Additionally, Korean artisans fused together different styles from different regions with their own tastes to form a native art tradition. Korean art is too often incorrectly described in Western literature as merely a passive bridge transmitting Chinese art to Japan. One area of Korean art where this is decidedly not the case is in Korean Buddhist sculpture. Korean stylistic developments and forms were greatly influential in the Asuka, Hakuhō, and Tenpyo periods of Japanese Buddhist sculpture when Korea transmitted Buddhism to Japan in the 6th century.