The Chinese garden had a very strong influence on early Japanese gardens. In or around 552, Buddhism was officially installed from China, via Korea, into Japan. Between 600 and 612, the Japanese Emperor sent four legations to the Court of the Chinese Sui Dynasty. Between 630 and 838, the Japanese court sent fifteen more legations to the court of the Tang Dynasty. These legations, with more than five hundred members each, included diplomats, scholars, students, Buddhist monks, and translators. They brought back Chinese writing, art objects, and detailed descriptions of Chinese gardens.