Abstract: Souseki Natsume was born in the year before the Meiji period and grew up to be a senior intellectual as the Meiji society developed. At that time, Japan was opened by the West by force, and after the Meiji Restoration, Japan studied the West comprehensively and undertook civilizational liberalization. Deeply influenced by both Chinese learning and Western studies, Souseki experienced and understood the social upheaval profoundly.During his study in England, Souseki developed the individualistic ideas that influenced him throughout his life.This article is based on his essay “My Individualism” and a series of medium-length novels written by Natsume Souseki after he became a professional writer,from the perspective of the Western “ego” and the Confucian “morality”. It analyzes and explains the characteristics of Sousekis individualistic thought under the influence of both Eastern and Western cultures, and discusses Sousekis localized reconstruction of the individualistic discourse in his novels with the idea of “moral righteousness”.

Key words: Souseki Natsume, individualism, self-centeredness, morality