In October 1654 the Dutch were finally given permission to bury their dead on land instead of the sea, but it still took almost a year before the first body was actually interred in a grave.
On 7 October 1655, it appeared that a seaman from the ship Anjelier (Carnation), which was lying in the harbour, had been missing for two days. The individual in question was the 19-year-old Jacob Heijndricksen from Hoorn and the next day his body floated to the surface next to the ship. That day, Winnincx wrote in his journal that this was the first time they had had to ask the interpreters to put the permission to bury the dead on land into practice.[1] However, since it was a Japanese festival, the interpreters were not able to speak to the Governor about it. Permission was given on 9 October and two Dutch people were permitted to attend the funeral. Winnincx related that they did not bury the dead man in the Japanese manner, in an urn, but in a coffin. The junior merchant Hogenhouck, a bookkeeper from the Anjelier and three banjoosten took the body to the other side of the bay. On their return, Hogenhouck and the bookkeeper said that it had been buried to the west of Dejima in a very beautiful spot called Inasa. According to them, the site belonged to the steward or bailiff of the domains of Nagasaki and there were Chinese graves there. The Japanese had covered the grave with stones and grass and a cypress had been planted in the middle. Winnincx thanked the Japanese with some pieces of silver and also had his thanks passed on to the Governor. This greatly improved the reputation of the VOC in Japan because, after all, burial at sea was normally the punishment meted out to thieves and vagabonds.