We owe to Marco Polo the first European account of Japan, or Cipangu as he called it, although, not having visited the country himself, he was entirely reliant on third-party sources. In the remarkable twenty years he served as ambassador for Khubilai Khan, the fourth Emperor of China and descendant of Chinggis Khan, he visited many neighbouring countries. In The Travels of Marco Polo, published in 1298, he describes reports of Japan as a magnificent country, abundant in gold and with white and civilized people, but whose skilful warriors were in constant conflict.

Marco Polo, with his father and uncle, had originally travelled to China overland. In the following century, the expanding Ottoman Empire began imposing heavy taxes on overland travellers, prompting European explorers to look for sea routes that would avoid passing through Islamic territory. The stakes were high. The lure of the East sprang from the pages of Marco Polo’s Travels – the silk, the gold, the silver, the spices such as pepper, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, even the erotic paintings. All were in great demand in Europe. Fortunes were there to be made.

Henry XV of Portugal [1394–1460], known as Henry the Navigator, was particularly keen to solve the sea-route problem and so despatched many of his young explorers with a mission to find an alternative route. The Cape Verde Islands were discovered in 1445 and by 1498 the Portuguese had found an eastern route, around Africa. Columbus, seeking a western route, had found the West Indies and part of South America for Spain. In 1494, the Pope defined what was known as the Tordesillas Line, whereby Spain and Portugal agreed not to interfere in each other's international business on their side of this north-south demarcation line.

The Italian explorer, John Cabot, had also read The Travels of Marco Polo. He hoped to reach the East by sailing west, across the Atlantic. He came to England and gained Henry VII's support. In 1497, he sailed for North America and reached Newfoundland, thinking it was Asia. However, his was the first English expedition to reach America. In 1498, he set out again with five ships, but none returned.