<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric time Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia, Europe, and North America . Strong Chinese influences are still evident in traditional Japanese culture as China had historically been a regional powerhouse, which has resulted in Japan absorbing many elements of Chinese culture first through Korea, then later through direct cultural exchanges with China . The inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from the outside world during the Tokugawa shogunate after Japanese missions to Imperial China, until the arrival of "The Black Ships" and the Meiji period . </P> <P> Japanese is the official and primary language of Japan . Japanese is relatively small but has a lexically distinct pitch - accent system . Early Japanese is known largely on the basis of its state in the 8th century, when the three major works of Old Japanese were compiled . The earliest attestation of the Japanese language is in a Chinese document from 252 AD . </P>

Which two cultures influenced the development of early japan