Reader Reviews
“It feels like reading about our own lives.”
“After finishing it, I’m no longer afraid of growing old.”
“With the most basic financial security and inevitable loneliness, you can still savor the taste of life.”
“Single women in their 50s return to the community they grew up in—unmarried, childless, and unapologetically themselves. A lifestyle that is becoming a reality.”

★ NHK TV drama adaptation—rated 9.3 on Douban! Starring Kyoko Koizumi and Satomi Kobayashi, hailed as “the best Japanese drama of 2024”.
★ A masterpiece by Chiya Fujino, winner of the 122nd Akutagawa Prize. Two women, together from kindergarten to age 55—unmarried, childless, living life on their own terms. A lifestyle that is becoming a reality for many.
★ One makes a living selling secondhand goods online, the other is exhausted by work—both in their 50s, back in the housing complex where they grew up, sharing the same everyday life: helping elderly neighbors with window screens, sharing meals, talking late into the night.
★ Rights sold: Simplified Chinese and Korean. More languages open for discussion!

This series includes two books: The Two in the Housing Complex and The Two in the Housing Complex Again.

Tano Eda, once called a prodigy, now works part-time as a university lecturer. She comes across as carefree, but is actually serious and meticulous—and has been divorced once. Sakurai Natsuko is an illustrator who recently lost her job and now makes a living selling used items on a secondhand marketplace app. She is precise in everything she does, an excellent cook, and single.
The two have been childhood friends since kindergarten, having grown up together in the same housing complex. After going through all the ups and downs of their younger years, they are now back in their 50s, still single, living in the very same complex where they were raised. Though Eda lives with her elderly parents, she spends almost every evening at Natsuko’s apartment, sharing meals and enjoying life at their own pace. In a community with a rapidly aging population, the two women in their 50s are still considered “the young ones”—chatting with elderly neighbors, being asked to help with window screens, and lending a hand with small repairs.

The original novel was first published in March 2022. The NHK TV drama adaptation premiered in September 2024, earning a 9.3 rating on Douban.

Chiya Fujino
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1962. Graduated from Azabu Junior High School, Azabu High School, and the Faculty of Education at Chiba University. She began her career as an editor for a manga magazine before transitioning to full-time novel writing after winning a literary prize in 1995.

Awards & Nominations:
1995: Won the 14th Kaihin Newcomer Literary Prize for Afternoon Class Schedule
1996: Nominated for the 18th Noma Literary Newcomer Prize for Polka for a Boy and a Girl
1998: Won the 20th Noma Literary Newcomer Prize for Ghostly Gossip
1999: Nominated for the 121st Akutagawa Prize for A Holiday of Love
2000: Won the 122nd Akutagawa Prize for Summer Promise

Other Notable Achievements:
2004–2008: Served as a selection committee member for the Gunzo Newcomer Literary Prize (47th–51st sessions)
2006: Her novel Route 225 was adapted into the film Route 225, for which she also co-wrote the screenplay
2024: The Two in the Housing Complex was adapted into an NHK TV drama starring Kyoko Koizumi and Satomi Kobayashi, widely acclaimed upon broadcast

Selected Works:
Polka for a Boy and a Girl (1996), Ghostly Gossip (1998), A Holiday of Love (1999), Summer Promise (2000), Route 225 (2002), Her Room (2003), Vegetable Heights Story (2005), Housewives and Love (2006), Middle School Superpower War (2007), Sayaka‘s Season (2007), Girl Ghost Stories (2008), Three Generations, Three Dogs (2009), A Wish (2010), Neverland (2010), The Two in the Housing Complex (2022), The Two in the Housing Complex Again (2024).

Episode 1: We Split Everything
Episode 2: When Was the Last Time You Called Me “Big Bro”?
Episode 3: Two People You Can’t Shake Off
Episode 4: Sora Says Anytime Is Fine
Episode 5: I Can‘t Leave—No, I Don’t Want To.