Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands attended a ceremony on Friday celebrating the cultural and economic exchanges that took place between her country and Japan during feudal times even when the latter closed its doors to the world.
The princess joined Japan's Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko in crossing a just-completed bridge linking the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki with Dejima, a man-made island which served as the country's only gateway to Europe for about 200 years until the mid-19th century.
"The Netherlands was the only window for Japan to access Western culture during the period when the country adopted an isolationist policy," the prince said in a ceremony prior to crossing the bridge. About 800 people attended the festivities.
The Dutch princess said the experience of crossing the bridge is a walk in the footsteps of her ancestors that also fosters the future friendship between the two countries.
The 38.5-meter bridge was built about 130 years after the original span was removed.
Dejima was built in 1636 by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Housing an office of Dutch East India Company, Dejima functioned as an exclusive economic zone from where the two countries traded products.
