Europeans had been fascinated with the legendary beauty of the Orient ever since Marco Polo's diaries of the 13th century and the spread of stories about the splendor of Japan's golden temples and religious statuary. Intrepid explorers and businessmen took their crews across the vast oceans to the mythical "golden isles" of the Far East.
自從十三世紀義大利商人馬可波羅在《東方見聞錄》中，描述了中國的富庶，以及日本有黃金寺廟及黃金打造的神像等金碧輝煌的景象之後，對歐洲人而言，遙遠的東方便籠上了美麗傳奇的色彩。深具冒險性格的航海家與生意人領著船隊，往浩浩盪盪大洋彼端傳說中的東方黃金之國挺進。