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The late-16th century was the golden age of Japanese screen painting, both literally and figuratively. The Momoyama period (1573-1615) was also an age of monumental architecture, with feudal lords building forts and castles of a size unprecedented in Japan. The great masters of the art of screen painting who were called upon to decorate the interiors of these large buildings filled them with screens of bold and innovative aesthetics, some with gold leaf covering their entire surfaces. Japan had a well-established tradition of incorporating gold leaf into art and decorative work.

Dejima, or Deshima, was a small fan-shaped artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki, Japan. During the Edo period (1615-1868), Dejima was the only place in which foreign traders were allowed to conduct business with Japan. It was originally built for Portuguese traders but was later used by the Dutch East India Company. In 1858, when Japan concluded the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States, Dejima’s role as the only port of entry for the West was over. The island was expanded by reclaiming land, and it was merged into Nagasaki, thus obscuring the island’s original borders.