It is said that the first Europeans to come to Japan were three Portuguese traders who drifted onto the shores of Tanegashima, an island to the south of Kyushu, in 1543 CE. This section shows the difficulty Europeans had in accurately representing the Japanese archipelago’s coastline and its position in relation to its surroundings. During the 16th century, the creation of successful large-scale mining of silver in Japan contributed greatly to the country’s economic wealth: trade with her East Asian neighbours and Europe flourished. While few details of this far-off land were known, a reputation that great wealth was to be found there grew and often reference to the legendary silver mines was included on European maps of the time.