The beginnings of Japanese liberalism date from the middle of the nineteenth century and appear as a product of the enlightenment movement during the Meiji Restoration. But the term Jiyushugi, today understood as equivalent to liberalism in English, has quite a different meaning in traditional Japanese usage. Jiyu consists of two Chinese characters Ji and yu meaning “to follow oneself” or “to use self as the only source of judgment for one's behavior”; shugi is translated as “principle” or “doctrine”. Thus, the word has traditionally been used, with very rare exceptions, to mean egoistic and selfish behavior that deviates from social norms and is specifically heedless of others.