By and large, however, experts give little credence to the stories.
Nothing found
"Despite all the treasure hunters, their maps, oral testimony and sophisticated metal detectors, nobody has found a thing," says Ambeth Ocampo, chairman of the Philippine government's National Historical Institute.
Since the existence of the treasure has never been proven, theories of what it likely contains range from lines of gold bullion piled meters high, of solid gold Buddha statues weighing more than a tonne, of loose diamonds, gold coins and priceless artefacts looted from temples.
One account claims the existence of gems, rare art, such as ancient Chinese scrolls and precious metals, all plundered from Asian treasuries, banks, private homes, art galleries and pawn shops owned by Chinese tycoons, Malay royalty, Buddhist sects, drug lords, and triad gangs.
Unlike art looted by the Nazis in Europe, none of the Yamashita "treasures" has been found, regional governments insist.
"We have heard of people searching for the so-called Yamashita treasure. But we cannot tell if it is true or not," a Japanese foreign ministry spokeswoman said in Tokyo. Other countries are similarly circumspect.
But failure has not deterred the dreamers, who have bored underneath historical sites, Japanese cemeteries, wartime-era military fortifications, government buildings, churches, and even private lots for half a century -- with or without government permits.
Authors Sterling and Peggy Seagrave in their 2003 book Gold Warriors: America's Secret Recovery of Yamashita's Gold allege the US government covertly recovered the booty and used it to bankroll the Cold War.
Secrets to the grave
No Filipino historian takes the claims seriously.
Feeding the rumors are further rumors, of secret maps, of snippets of information given by Japanese soldiers as they went to their deaths.
One theorist alleges that Yamashita's driver was tortured by US agents into revealing treasure sites.
Another suggests that General Douglas Macarthur, who commanded US forces in East Asia and went on to accept Japan's surrender, ordered Yamashita's trial and execution to keep him quiet.
"It's become something like an urban legend-type story," said University of the Philippines professor Rico Jose, a local authority on the Japanese period in the Philippines.
RSS