In the previous article, Sōseki argued that power and money must be matched with duty and responsibility. This article looks at where Sōseki draws that sense of duty from — a concrete example in England, and the very definition of the term “individualism” itself.
England, as a concrete example
To move the argument forward, Sōseki brings in a country he knows from his own years abroad. England, he says, is “a country that greatly prizes freedom,” and yet “there is no country more thoroughly ordered than England” — adding, wryly, “to tell the truth, I don’t actually like England. I say this despite disliking it, simply because it’s a fact.” This candor is typical of how Sōseki builds his arguments. He notes that the English are taught, from childhood, to love their own freedom while respecting the freedom of others, and cites a famous line.
That famous saying of Nelson’s, “England expects every man to do his duty,” is surely not meant only for the moment it was spoken. It must be a deeply rooted idea, developed as the flip side of their freedom. (working translation)
Admiral Nelson’s signal before the Battle of Trafalgar was not, in Sōseki’s reading, mere wartime encouragement — it expresses a thought embedded in English society, that freedom and duty are two sides of the same coin.
Freedom without a sense of duty is not real freedom
From this observation, Sōseki draws out the core proposition of his individualism.
In short, I believe that freedom without a sense of duty is not true freedom. Because that kind of selfish freedom cannot exist in society. … I hope, deeply, that you will be free. And at the same time I hope, just as deeply, that you will come to accept the idea of duty. It’s in this sense that I don’t hesitate to call myself an individualist. (working translation)
Not freedom alone, but freedom bound to duty — this is what Sōseki means by individualism. He goes on to try to head off a misunderstanding of the term: as long as it affects no one else, “the freedom that lets me face left while you face right is something I must both hold for myself and grant to others” — that, he says, is exactly what he means by individualism.
A doctrine with no factional spirit
Sōseki redefines individualism once more, from another angle: “a doctrine with no factional spirit, but with a sense of right and wrong” — meaning not forming cliques or banding into groups, and not moving blindly for the sake of power or money. Judging and acting solely by what’s right or wrong, without ever banding together — but that, Sōseki says, can mean ending up entirely alone. He backs up this “loneliness” with an episode from his own life.
The Setsurei Miyake incident
Sōseki tells of something that happened while he was in charge of the literary column at the Asahi Shimbun. Someone had written something critical of the critic Setsurei Miyake — not a personal attack, just a review — and Miyake’s followers, furious, demanded a retraction, even though nothing in it was factually wrong.
If it had been a factual error, that would be one thing, but it was a review; there was nothing to retract. (working translation)
Rather than taking the criticism as criticism, the group banded together as a faction and demanded a retraction — Sōseki calls this “acting, it seemed to me, by factionalism.” And he describes his own stance this way:
I recognize the other person’s existence to that degree — which is to say, I grant them that much freedom. … That is the loneliness of individualism. … And of course it is — a bundle of brushwood twigs feels sturdier than a single twig alone. (working translation)
“A bundle of brushwood twigs feels sturdier than a single twig alone” — Sōseki doesn’t hide the loneliness of judging things alone, case by case, without ever bundling into a group.
Worth checking as you read
First, the reading of Nelson’s signal is Sōseki’s own. “England expects every man to do his duty” was historically the actual signal flown at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), but reading it as evidence that freedom and duty are two sides of one coin is Sōseki’s own interpretation, not an established point of English historiography confirmed in this feature.
Second, Setsurei Miyake (1860–1945) was a leading critic and thinker of the day. This feature has not verified the precise date or details of the incident Sōseki describes; it is best read as Sōseki’s own recollection.
Summary
| Point | Content |
|---|---|
| The England example | A country that loves freedom and is, at the same time, thoroughly ordered — with a sense of duty behind the freedom |
| Definition of individualism | Freedom bound to a sense of duty. Granting others the same degree of freedom |
| Contrast with factionalism | Judging things alone by right and wrong, without forming a faction — at the cost of loneliness |
| The Miyake incident | A concrete example of “factionalism” banding together to demand a retraction of a review |
In short — Sōseki’s individualism is freedom bound to duty, and the stance of judging right and wrong alone rather than forming a faction — a stance that carries an unavoidable loneliness.