In October 1960, Ikeda Sensei visited a small park in San Francisco overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. A nearby sign explained its engineering wonder—a 37-inch cable formed from 27,572 individual strands of wire, each essential to supporting the bridge’s great span.
“It’s true that the individual wires are not very thick,” Sensei said, “but when bunched together in great numbers, they display incredible strength.”[1]
So it was with the Soka Gakkai. What started with a handful of members united in purpose with their mentor, eventually blossomed into a global network of Bodhisattvas of the Earth spanning 192 countries and territories.
To mark the 65th anniversary of Sensei’s first visit to the U.S. to initiate global kosen-rufu, the SGI-USA held commemorative meetings in Santa Monica and Oakland, California, led by Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada and SGI General Director Yoshiki Tanigawa.
On Oct. 8, more than 850 representative leaders gathered at the World Culture Center in Santa Monica, California, for a dynamic SoCal Quint Zones general meeting, including a heartfelt future division performance of the song “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman.
SGI-USA General Director Adin Strauss opened the meeting by introducing the SGI delegation accompanying President Harada and General Director Tanigawa: SGI North America Oceania Division Director Mitsuaki Asano; Vice Director Mitsu Kawahara; President Harada’s chief secretary Masayuki Sakamoto; and SGI interpreter Cathy Rakuno.
Strauss said that, emulating the passionate seeking spirit of all those who drove several hours to attend the meeting, “Let’s make a fresh departure—toward our amazing goal of enabling 10,000 new youth to embrace our practice by Ikeda Sensei’s 100th birthday on Jan. 2, 2028—and onward from there to the Soka Gakkai’s 100th anniversary on Nov. 18, 2030.”
Later the same week, nearly 800 representative leaders converged on the Oakland Convention Center on Oct. 11, 2025, from San Francisco Ever-Victorious and Golden Gate Mentor Disciple zones, to make a fresh departure within the sightline of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay.
The youth seized the moment with both a spirited dance performance and a refreshing rendition of “Youth With a Noble Vow” led by the youth band.
Kenya Runyan, the West Territory women’s leader, in her opening remarks, said that it was there in San Francisco in 1993 that she came into contact with her mentor’s great humanity and encouragement. “I learned that the SGI was the home I could always return to,” she said. “And today, it is my great privilege to be someone who can provide that environment for young people to flourish and live out their unique missions.”
‘Launching into the third stage of our worldwide kosen-rufu movement.’
Both meetings opened with words from Tanigawa, who shared the following leadership appointments, which had been approved by the SGI-USA Executive Council, starting with Adin Strauss, who was renewed for another three-year term as SGI-USA General Director.
Tanigawa then introduced the following new appointments:
Monica Soto Ouchi
Naoko Leslie
Donna Snyder
SGI-USA Vice General Director
Ron Goode
SGI-USA Vice General Director
James Herrmann
James Herrmann will also be continuing as the national men’s leader.
Tanigawa then shared that the following individuals would conclude their national leadership roles:
Cliff Sawyer and Lee Malone as SGI-USA vice general directors.
Kazuyo Matsumura as SGI-USA vice women’s leader.
“Thank you very much for your many years of contributions in these leadership roles,” Tanigawa said.
He then spoke about how the youth whom Sensei raised in the 1990s are now initiating today’s new departure. “In a sense, I feel we are launching into the third stage of our worldwide kosen-rufu movement,” he said. “There is no other time than now to respond to Sensei’s expectation for the SGI-USA to become the center of worldwide kosen-rufu in the 21st century!” (See full address on p. 7 and 9).
Newly appointed women’s leader Monica Soto Ouchi then shared her determination to build a Soka family in America together, “where youth are drawn by our genuine bonds of camaraderie to their neighborhood discussion meetings, which represent the heart and soul of our movement” (see p. 10 for full address).
The revival of America will open the door to the renewal of worldwide kosen-rufu.
President Harada, who accompanied Sensei on 10 of his visits to the U.S., shared in detail about Sensei’s 1993 visit, during which he spent 56 days in North and South America (see p. 8 for his full address).
In January 1993, at a guidance meeting in Los Angeles, Sensei said, “The renewal of the United States is linked to the renewal of the world.”[2]
Added President Harada: “If each member of America, standing firmly on the life philosophy of the Mystic Law, embodies the true values of equality, freedom and happiness in their present place and accomplishes the ‘revival of America,’ they will surely open the door to the renewal of worldwide kosen-rufu.”
The last time President Harada visited the continental U.S. was in 2015. During that visit, he brought with him four mottoes from Ikeda Sensei to mark a fresh departure of American kosen-rufu. They are:
• America of Courage
• America of Capable People
• America of Unity
• Be the Model for Worldwide Kosen-rufu
After the meetings in Santa Monica and Oakland, participants remarked leaving feeling refreshed, their personal vows renewed, ready to dig in, to test their own capacity in calling forth peace.
November 7, 2025 World Tribune, pp. 6–7
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