[Book Review] Why "The Housework on the Opposite Shore" Hit Home: A Story That Resonated with Me After Transitioning from a "Working Mom" to a "Stay-at-Home Mom"

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Good evening! This is Miriiho.

I would like to share my book review of "The Housework on the Opposite Shore" (by Kaeruko Akino), which has been adapted into a drama starring Mikako Tabe starting in April 2025.I would like to share my book review of "The Housework on the Opposite Shore" (by Kaeruko Akino), which has been adapted into a drama starring Mikako Tabe starting in April 2025.

I bought "The Housework on the Opposite Shore" three years ago.

At that time, I was a full-time working mom, and because the protagonist, Shiho Murakami, was a stay-at-home mom, I couldn't really empathize with the setting, so I only read the beginning and put it on my bookshelf.

Back then, I think I was reading it while projecting myself onto Reiko Nagano, the high-powered career woman, rather than Shiho.Back then, I think I was reading it while projecting myself onto Reiko Nagano, the high-powered career woman, rather than Shiho.

However, the drama adaptation starting this April prompted me to pick it up again.

Now, after resigning from my job, I have been living in a state that is "like a stay-at-home mom" for a while.

Now that my environment has changed, the world of this book has touched me in a surprising way.

I read it all at once on the train while visiting my parents' home, and I found myself holding back tears many times.

The realistic struggles and connections of the characters

This story features men and women in various positions.

• Stay-at-home mom Shiho Murakami

• Full-time career mom Reiko Nagano

• Elite bureaucrat on childcare leave, Tatsuya Nakatani

• Former nursery teacher and wife of a pediatrician, Akiko Tsutamura

• A woman in her 70s who supports Shiho as a stay-at-home mom, Ms. Sakaue

Shiho lost her mother at age 14 and has a past of struggling with the unfeeling words of her father, who did no housework while she took on all the chores.

Now, she lives with her husband, who manages an izakaya, and their daughter, Ichigo, and while she feels a sense of loneliness, she leads a happy daily life.

However,

Even when she wants to make mom friends, many families are dual-income, so she can't find friends to meet during the day, and she even ends up being gossiped about at the support center.

Then one day, a mishap occurs where the child of her neighbor, the working mom Reiko Nagano, goes inside alone and locks the front door.

After safely rescuing the child from the balcony, Shiho learns how exhausted Reiko is every day, and they begin to open up to each other.

Meanwhile, Nakatani, whom she met at the park where she always takes Ichigo, initially spoke in a very logical manner and seemed to look down on stay-at-home moms.

Although Nakatani was the type of annoying "dad friend," he struggled with the reality that child-rearing doesn't go according to theory, and by exposing his own awkwardness, a bond of trust with Shiho gradually begins to form.

Akiko, who is said by those around her to have married into wealth, was actually working at a reception desk while undergoing fertility treatment.

Although she acts cheerful, she is hurt by the insensitive words thrown at her by gossip-loving patients and is troubled by the direction of her own life.

Her presence is a source of comfort for Shiho and Reiko, and as a former nursery teacher, she sometimes helps the moms with professional advice.

And we must not forget the presence of Ms. Sakaue.

She is the person who saved Shiho, who felt a sense of confinement in her daily life alone with her child, by speaking to her after noticing the hydrangeas in her garden.

Ms. Sakaue, who talks about how she once couldn't tell anyone her own feelings as a daughter-in-law and would cry at the gate of her house, becomes a person who encourages Shiho every day as she struggles with child-rearing alone.

When it is revealed that Ms. Sakaue has mild dementia, and as her relationship with her only daughter is depicted, Shiho also begins to face a new theme: "family care."

Scenes that overlapped with my own child-rearing experience

While reading the story, there were many scenes that overlapped with my own experiences.

In my case, because I started raising my child in a rural area, the support centers were full of stay-at-home moms, and at first, the atmosphere made it hard to talk to anyone. When I said, "I plan to return to work full-time after my maternity leave," they would say, "That's amazing," but they would somehow keep their distance. I still remember the loneliness of not being understood.

Seeing Shiho's loneliness and her struggle with the distance between her and other moms, I saw my past self reflected in her.

The process of changing relationships with family is also a highlight

In the story, the characters are carefully depicted as they struggle with their relationships with their respective partners, yet gradually change.

What was particularly impressive was the relationship between Shiho and her husband, Torao. Busy Torao had not noticed Shiho's loneliness, but after being shaken by the "adultery suspicion" between Shiho and Nakatani, he begins to truly support Shiho.

The two begin to share their true feelings and strive to rebuild their "form as a family" once again.

The Nakatani couple and the Reiko couple also fail to notice each other's problems until they become serious, and within that, they gradually repair their relationships through dialogue.

Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a working mom, it is not that anyone is at fault.

In the busyness of life, feelings that couldn't be put into words simply created misunderstandings.

Regarding my own resignation this time, I had many discussions with my husband.

It was because of my husband, who told me, 'Let's not decide alone, let's think about it together,' that I was able to view this career change in a positive light.

A story of moms empathizing with each other across their 'differences'

'Housework on the Opposite Shore' depicts the differences in the positions of stay-at-home moms and working moms, as well as women and men, while powerfully conveying the importance of relationships where we can overcome differences and empathize with one another.

Now that I have finished reading it, I feel like I can see a landscape that was invisible to me three years ago.

As life stages change, we sometimes receive completely different messages from the same story.

I felt truly grateful to have encountered such a reading experience.

Thank you for reading until the end!

Click here for the paperback edition of 'Housework on the Opposite Shore'.

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