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.

This is the long-awaited sequel to The Two in the Housing Complex. The story continues to follow Natsuko (the illustrator) and Eda (the part-time university lecturer) as they go about their daily lives in the housing complex where they were born and raised.
They buy and sell “unwanted items” on flea market apps, chat, help out their elderly neighbors, and indulge in small luxuries. They pick strawberries together in the community garden, set up a stall at a flea market event, and enjoy Taiwanese cuisine while watching Taiwanese films—all while keeping an eye on their health checkup results. Early 50s, single, childhood friends—their lives together remain unchanged.

The sequel was first published in October 2024.

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).