In 404 CE, the first foreign medicine was imported into Japan from Korea, which has been deduced as being mostly herbal in nature. During this time, waves of migration from the Korean peninsula brought Chinese technology and writings to the island nation. It was through these transplants that the native Japanese learned of Chinese medicine and acupuncture. As passageways between China and Japan became more open, the first formal introduction of acupuncture in Japan occurred in 562 by a Chinese monk name Zhi Cong. He made the trek across the Sea of China east and brought with him medical treatises on herbal medicine and acupuncture meridians including the Mingtang tu, also known as the Illustrated Manual of Channels, Collaterals, and Acupuncture Points.

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