This week's episode is brought to you by DreamCloud Mattresses.

DreamCloud is an affordable, luxury hybrid mattress that combines the best of latex,

memory foam, tufting, and coil technology to provide the best sleep that money can buy,

and an exciting combination of comfort and support.

And what's particularly great about it is that with a 365-day free trial, that's right,

a full year to try it out, you can take your time deciding whether you like it or not.

For listeners of the show, DreamCloud is offering $200 off your first order.

Head on over to isaacmyer.net slash

DreamCloud, that's one word,

DreamCloud, and click the link

for the discount. And then once

your new bed arrives, have a lie down,

enjoy the comfort, and crank up the

podcasts. So, ... Hello, and welcome to the History of Japan podcast, episode 247, Edelko.

One of the things I really believe in very strongly is the importance of the ground-level perspective in history.

You see, very often, especially on podcasts like this one, it's easy to focus exclusively on the topmost level of the historical narrative, the generals, the politicians, the businessmen, and so forth, and the big decisions

they make. And for good reason, those stories, by virtue of their political drama and

intrigue and calculation or lack thereof that goes into them, are exciting and fascinating

and horrifying in all the ways that humans tend to enjoy their stories being.

Yet equally intriguing are the stories of regular people thrust into these seemingly larger-than-life events,

which is why, when I was given the chance to do this interview, I was really excited by the prospect.

Today on the show, I'll be talking to Mr. Isaac Shapiro, a man who has lived a truly

...