Literally: this is what the name "nagaya" (長屋) and they started in the Edo period to house as many individuals as possible (they weren't very comfortable for families but then again Edo was not exactly a city to raise a family in) and in essence where one house separated in compartments/apartments with a common well and outhouse. This one isn't of course from that time (nothing in Tokyo lasts that long) but it's most probably from before the war. Tokyo's eastern wards are among the few urban places in Japan where you can nagaya like these being still inhabited.
(For a bigger version of this picture both in color and black and white, check my "Japan Arekore" set on Flickr).
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