The Enlightenment period was devoted to new ways of thinking about life in 18th century Europe. The Enlightenment was a time when society came to the conclusion that life could be improved through modernization. Some philosophers like Rousseu and Wollstonecraft have questioned society's beliefs. Japan, however, welcomed everything it could from Europe. The novel Sanshiro guides us to recognize how Japan adopted the ideas of European Enlightenment, modernization, philosophies, and freedom. The novel Sanshiro is a classic example of how Japan moved from the ancient values ​​of Japanese tradition to a more modern lifestyle like that of the city of Tokyo. Shanshiro, who moved from his countryside to Tokyo, saw a more modern, westernized city like Tokyo. Sanshiro moved to Tokyo and saw life completely different from that of his country house. He opened his eyes to city life and saw how city dwellers follow a more westernized life and, little by little, he detached himself from his country roots. Throughout the book, the character struggles to maintain his country values ​​and traditions, but city life truly changes his thoughts of freedom and individuality, which is the notion of the Enlightenment period. During the Enlightenment period, society emphasized individuality and being more in tune with your thoughts and your own perception rather than society as a whole and this era moved waves towards parts of the world where other countries have adopted it, such as Japan. Japan embraced the idea of ​​freedom of thought, individuality and Sanshiro is a classic example of a man who moved from old traditional values ​​to more modern values ​​such as his own enlightenment of city life. Sanshiro is continually torn between his country...... middle of paper ...... to have the freedom we have now. During the Age of Enlightenment, women began to be respected by men and they could have many more opportunities than before. For example in the novel Sanshiro, he is very impressed by women, especially by Mineko who is a young, self-determined city girl. He respects her a lot in the novel and this ties in with Wollstonecraft's idea that women should always be respected. In conclusion, Japan and Europe, in which they developed independently, had a lot in common. Japan adopted a more Westernized approach to its way of life thanks to the Westernized Enlightenment. They started to have high fashion, beautiful buildings, people having more freedom in expressing themselves as individualists. Men and women became intellectuals of their ideas and values. The European Enlightenment helped change Japan in many ways.