Celebrating the 400th anniversary of trade relations with Japan, the Dutch city of Leiden has organized several events in the year 2009 to showcase the influence of Dutch culture on Japan (and vice versa). Collectively known as Japan@Leiden these events will occur throughout the year. More info can be found at http://www.japanleiden.nl/ (site available in Dutch, English and Japanese).

To participate in these events, Nippon○Rennaissance hopes to inform its readers of these events, as well as provide reports of the events as they happen. In the future, news items and posts of interests will be added. Doing so, I hope to transform Nippon○Rennaissance from a simple blog into a full-blown Webglossy.

On my part, I hope that the reports and information provided here will spark your interest in Japanese culture, and perhaps visit the many events held this year in Japan, the Netherlands and the United States.