★ Winner of the 15th Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize! The 2010 film adaptation won the International Critics‘ Prize at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival – a testament to its literary and artistic quality.
★ Cumulative print run of approx. 390,000 copies (as of 2020). Still in print after over 20 years, hailed as an “immortal masterpiece.” The author’s later work “National Treasure” sold over 1.39 million copies in 2025, proving his strong market appeal.
★ Five young roommates narrate in turn, leading to a “shockingly unexpected” ending. A Douban reader wrote: “Beneath the gentle, delicate words flows an undercurrent of evil.”
★ In 2002, Yoshida won both the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize (for this novel) and the Akutagawa Prize (for “Park Life”) – a rare crossover genius of literary and popular fiction. He has served as an Akutagawa Prize judge since 2016.
★ Adapted multiple times over 20+ years: an award-winning film, a 2025 stage play revival, and an audiobook – a timeless masterpiece of youth ensemble drama.
★ Rights previously sold in English, French, etc. Korean edition coming soon! More languages available upon request.

A strange shared life in a 2LDK apartment – a novel of five young people. No matter the era, reality is harsh. But if you play the role that suits you, that place becomes a paradise anyone can enter.

Ryosuke Sugimoto, 21, a seemingly carefree college student from Nagasaki.
Kotomi Ōgakiuchi, 23, unemployed, in love with a young actor.
Satoru Kosubo, 18, works at night, joined the share house later.
Mirai Sōma, 24, illustrator and shop manager, doubts showing her true self.
Naoe Ihara, 28, works for an indie film distributor, a principled man who runs at night.

Their lives are interwoven in a series of vignettes, each from a different perspective.

Shuichi Yoshida
Born in September 1968 in Nagasaki City, Japan. He graduated from Nagasaki Prefectural Nagasaki Minami High School and the Faculty of Business Administration at Hōsei University. After university, he worked at various part‑time jobs.

In 1997, he made his literary debut with “The Last Son,” which won the 84th Literary World Newcomer Prize and was also nominated for the 117th Akutagawa Prize. In 2002, he won the 15th Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize for “Parade” (Dōkyo Seikatsu) and, the same year, the 127th Akutagawa Prize for “Park Life.” Winning both a popular fiction prize and a pure literature prize in the same year made him a topic of much discussion.

His early works often depicted the lives of young city dwellers. Later, his full‑length novel “Villain” (Aku Nin), which deals with a murder case, won the 61st Mainichi Publishing Culture Award and the 34th Osaragi Jirō Award in 2007. In 2010, he received the 23rd Shibata Renzaburō Award for “Yokomichi Yonosuke.” In 2019, he won both the 69th Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award for Fine Arts and the 14th Chūōkōron Prize for Literature for “National Treasure.” He has served as a judge for the Akutagawa Prize since 2016.

He is a cat lover who lives with two cats: a Bengal cat named “Kin‑chan” (Kintarō) and a Scottish Fold named “Gin‑chan” (Gintarō). In 2017, he appeared with his beloved cats on the NHK Educational TV documentary series “Neko Mentary: Cats and Their People.”