Ono no Imoko (小野 妹子) was a Japanese politician and diplomat in the late 6th and early 7th century, during the Asuka period.
[1] Ono was appointed by Empress Suiko as an official envoy (Kenzuishi) to the Sui court in 607 (imperial embassies to China), and he delivered the famous letter from Japan's Prince Shōtoku which began "The Son of Heaven where the sun rises [Japan], to the Son of Heaven where the sun sets [China], may good health be with you."
Goguryeo for years raided and assaulted Chinese borders, in an ill-fated attempt to subjugate the kingdom in the north, the Sui dynasty later collapsed from unfavorable political opinion generated by the Goguryeo-Sui War and other causes.
Ono was then appointed envoy to Sui for a second time in the fall of 608 and accompanied Pei Shiqing on his return trip to China.
Ono no Imoko is often cited as an example of an official who achieved promotion under the new meritorious Twelve Level Cap and Rank System implemented by Prince Shōtoku in 603.