Nobody would question the fact that Literati in premodern Japan had a socially as well as intellectually complexe and diverse profile compared to their Chinese counterpart. In the present paper, I'll first reflect upon the origins of such a situation, and then try to show how, during the second half of the eighteenth century, Japanese intellectuals became to share a common view of the world and of the society. I'll take the example of Kaiho Seiryo to illustrate this thesis. In the present paper, I'll focus more on Kaiho's stance as an intellectual and on his view of learning than the content of Kaiho's political thought. For Kaiho Seiryo, Chinese Classics as well as Japanese scholarship were not to be worshipped. They just provided examples and ideas which could inspire contemporary politics. Self judgment was primary and every scholar had to dedicate himself to finding answers to the concrete problems of his time and to express them using a language easily understandable for everyone. Lastly, I'll try to explore the political and intellectual reasons why such a change happened at the turn of the 19th century.