History of Japan

Episode 627 - Flowering Fortunes, Part 2

This week: Fujiwara no Kaneie is a name we've encountered once before on the podcast. But now we get to see him in his element as a wheeler and dealer who lays out a perfect blueprint for assuming political power from an older sibling. And we'll get to see Kaneie's sons fight a very similar battle--leading to the rise of the man who would take the Fujiwara to the zenith of their power, Fujiwara no Michinaga. Show notes here [https://isaacmeyer.net/2026/05/episode-627-flowering-fortunes-part-2/].

Episode 626 - Flowering Fortunes, Part 1

We're starting a new series taking a look at an oft neglected classic of Heian literature: The Eiga Monogatari, or Tale of Flowering Fortunes, which tells the history of the great Fujiwara family at the height of its power. This week: what do we know about Eiga Monogatari and how it fits into the wider literary history of classical Japan? Show notes here [https://isaacmeyer.net/2026/05/episode-626-flowering-fortunes-part-1/].

Episode 625 - An Ocean Between Us, Part 3

This week: in 1988, a Japanese company bought a paper mill in Port Angeles, WA, in a story that basically nobody except one reporter from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer bothered to pay much attention to. But in fact, that story tells us a lot about US-Japan relations. Show notes here [https://isaacmeyer.net/2026/04/episode-625-an-ocean-between-us-part-3/].

Episode 625 - An Ocean Between Us, Part 2

This week: rumors swirled around Port Angeles for decades after WWII that a Japanese man, Osasa Masaru, who had lived there from 1930-39 was in fact a Japanese spy who'd been sent to Port Angeles to report on the movements of the American Pacific Fleet. The reality is at once far more interesting and far more mundane. Show notes here [https://isaacmeyer.net/2026/04/episode-625-an-ocean-between-us-part-2/].

Episode 624 - An Ocean Between Us, Part 1

This week: what role does a sleepy town in Washington's Olympic Peninsula play in Japan's history? Well, more than you'd think. We'll look at three different connections between Japan and Port Angeles over the next few weeks, starting with the story of some castaways who found themselves adrift nearby almost 200 years ago. Show notes here [https://isaacmeyer.net/2026/04/episode-624-an-ocean-between-us-part-2/].