Novelist Michiru Sawano's Home-Building Essay 'Building an Ordinary House' Released
U-NEXT has released 'Building an Ordinary House,' an essay by novelist Michiru Sawano, on April 24th. This book humorously recounts the author's personal experience of building a house 17 years ago, marking a step in U-NEXT's strategy to strengthen its book publishing business.
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- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 24, 2026 at 10:31
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U-NEXT Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Tenshin Tsutsumi), which operates the video streaming service 'U-NEXT' under the USEN & U-NEXT GROUP, will release Michiru Sawano's essay 'Building an Ordinary House' nationwide at bookstores on Friday, April 24th.
Following her debut essay 'Grandma Princess Goes to London!', which became an instant sensation, the theme of Sawano's latest work is 'home'. It is a humorous essay chronicling the time 17 years ago when she built a home and workspace for herself and one cat.
Please enjoy it, even as you might retort, 'What's ordinary about that?!'
Michiru Sawano 'Building an Ordinary House'
https://video.unext.jp/book/title/BSD0001157384/
"You, it's about time you built a house." Seventeen years ago, with her mother's sudden remark, the novelist's journey of home-building began. It was her mother's warning to her daughter, immersed in work at her parents' home, to 'separate public and private life'. The goal was simply a practical and low-maintenance home. However, this story takes place at a time when a single female client, working from home, and online shopping were far less common. What became of her dream home plan, which she filled with what she considered a very 'ordinary' life?
This masterpiece essay recounts the days of home-building with nostalgia, sometimes sweetness, bitterness, and mostly humor.
Michiru Sawano
https://video.unext.jp/browse/credit/PER0289577/PRN0301328
Debuted in 1997 with 'Hitokai Kidan' (Kodansha X Bunko White Heart). Has written numerous novels including 'Saigo no Bangohan' (Kadokawa Bunko), 'Toki o Kakeru Megane' (Shueisha Orange Bunko), and 'Otoko Futari de 12-kagetsu Gohan' (Printemps Publishing). Released her first essay 'Grandma Princess Goes to London!' (Shogakukan) in 2023. Other works include photo essays documenting her life with her cats, 'Chibisuke Meets Ōkii Nekosan-tachi' and 'Chibisuke Loves Ōkii Nekosan-tachi' (Mikasa Shobo), and 'Ano Hito to, Ano Toki, Tabeta' (Futami Shobo), an essay about memories with people and food.
Bibliographic Information
Title: 'Building an Ordinary House'
Author: Michiru Sawano
Specifications: B6 size, softcover / 328 pages
Release Date: April 24, 2026
Retail Price (incl. tax): 1980 yen (1800 yen + tax)
ISBN: 978-4-86843-401-6
Book Design: Yoko Akuta
Cover Amigurumi: Atelier Eupho
Photography: Mitsuru Hirota
Illustration: Nao Sakamoto
You can check U-NEXT's list of original books here (https://video.unext.jp/book/originals/book). For the latest information, please check the official book X account (@UNEXT_publish).
What is U-NEXT?
U-NEXT is Japan's No.1 video streaming service with the largest selection of unlimited viewing titles*. You can enjoy over 460,000 movies, dramas, anime, and more, as well as live music, stage performances, and world-class sports like soccer, golf, and martial arts in real-time. Furthermore, with over 1.29 million manga and books available, U-NEXT delivers a genre-defying entertainment experience, allowing seamless enjoyment of 'video', 'books', 'sports', and 'live' content within a single app. Following its service integration with Paravi in July 2023, U-NEXT now offers a vast lineup of dramas and variety shows from TBS and TV Tokyo, making its service even more appealing.
U-NEXT Co., Ltd. is a group company of U-NEXT HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President & CEO: Yasuhide Uno).
U-NEXT: https://video.unext.jp
*According to GEM Partners research / as of March 2026.
Surveyed foreign films/Japanese films/overseas dramas/Korean and Asian dramas/domestic dramas/anime among major flat-rate video streaming services in Japan. Separately, paid content is available.
Following her debut essay 'Grandma Princess Goes to London!', which became an instant sensation, the theme of Sawano's latest work is 'home'. It is a humorous essay chronicling the time 17 years ago when she built a home and workspace for herself and one cat.
Please enjoy it, even as you might retort, 'What's ordinary about that?!'
Michiru Sawano 'Building an Ordinary House'
https://video.unext.jp/book/title/BSD0001157384/
"You, it's about time you built a house." Seventeen years ago, with her mother's sudden remark, the novelist's journey of home-building began. It was her mother's warning to her daughter, immersed in work at her parents' home, to 'separate public and private life'. The goal was simply a practical and low-maintenance home. However, this story takes place at a time when a single female client, working from home, and online shopping were far less common. What became of her dream home plan, which she filled with what she considered a very 'ordinary' life?
This masterpiece essay recounts the days of home-building with nostalgia, sometimes sweetness, bitterness, and mostly humor.
Michiru Sawano
https://video.unext.jp/browse/credit/PER0289577/PRN0301328
Debuted in 1997 with 'Hitokai Kidan' (Kodansha X Bunko White Heart). Has written numerous novels including 'Saigo no Bangohan' (Kadokawa Bunko), 'Toki o Kakeru Megane' (Shueisha Orange Bunko), and 'Otoko Futari de 12-kagetsu Gohan' (Printemps Publishing). Released her first essay 'Grandma Princess Goes to London!' (Shogakukan) in 2023. Other works include photo essays documenting her life with her cats, 'Chibisuke Meets Ōkii Nekosan-tachi' and 'Chibisuke Loves Ōkii Nekosan-tachi' (Mikasa Shobo), and 'Ano Hito to, Ano Toki, Tabeta' (Futami Shobo), an essay about memories with people and food.
Bibliographic Information
Title: 'Building an Ordinary House'
Author: Michiru Sawano
Specifications: B6 size, softcover / 328 pages
Release Date: April 24, 2026
Retail Price (incl. tax): 1980 yen (1800 yen + tax)
ISBN: 978-4-86843-401-6
Book Design: Yoko Akuta
Cover Amigurumi: Atelier Eupho
Photography: Mitsuru Hirota
Illustration: Nao Sakamoto
You can check U-NEXT's list of original books here (https://video.unext.jp/book/originals/book). For the latest information, please check the official book X account (@UNEXT_publish).
What is U-NEXT?
U-NEXT is Japan's No.1 video streaming service with the largest selection of unlimited viewing titles*. You can enjoy over 460,000 movies, dramas, anime, and more, as well as live music, stage performances, and world-class sports like soccer, golf, and martial arts in real-time. Furthermore, with over 1.29 million manga and books available, U-NEXT delivers a genre-defying entertainment experience, allowing seamless enjoyment of 'video', 'books', 'sports', and 'live' content within a single app. Following its service integration with Paravi in July 2023, U-NEXT now offers a vast lineup of dramas and variety shows from TBS and TV Tokyo, making its service even more appealing.
U-NEXT Co., Ltd. is a group company of U-NEXT HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President & CEO: Yasuhide Uno).
U-NEXT: https://video.unext.jp
*According to GEM Partners research / as of March 2026.
Surveyed foreign films/Japanese films/overseas dramas/Korean and Asian dramas/domestic dramas/anime among major flat-rate video streaming services in Japan. Separately, paid content is available.