HARD TIMES IN THE HOMETOWN: A History of Community Survival in Modern Japan, by Martin Dusinberre. University of Hawaii Press, 2012, 247 pp., $55 (hardcover)

This superbly told tale about the waxing and waning fortunes of Kaminoseki town over the past four centuries presents some interesting local counterpoints to the more familiar national narrative.

Kaminoseki, a port on the Inland Sea in Yamaguchi Prefecture, was a vibrant trading hub in the Tokugawa Period, but suffered decline from the late 19th century against the backdrop of national modernization.