CategoryOur History

6/4 SGI Ikeda Kayo-kai Day In 2009, Ikeda Sensei and his wife, Kaneko, visited the Soka Young Women’s Center in Shinanomachi, Tokyo, for the first time and presented five eternal guidelines for the young women’s division. To commemorate this day, June 4 is celebrated as SGI Ikeda Kayo-kai Day. 6/6 Tsunesaburo Makiguchi’s Birthday In 1871,

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi greeted his students at the school gates every morning, come rain or shine. He considered all aspects of their well-being. Were they cold? Had they eaten a proper meal? He prepared lunch for students who would otherwise go without, discreetly placing the meals in the janitor’s room so the students wouldn’t feel ashamed.

May 3 is the New Year’s Day of the Soka Gakkai, a day when members in 192 countries and territories take a fresh step forward rooted in their vow to advance kosen-rufu in their communities.  The day commemorates the inaugurations of second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda in 1951 and Ikeda Sensei as third president in

5/3 Soka Gakkai Day In 1951, Josei Toda was inaugurated as second Soka Gakkai president and declared his lifetime membership goal of 750,000 households. On May 3, 1960, 32-year-old Daisaku Ikeda was inaugurated as third Soka Gakkai president, vowing to advance kosen-rufu on his mentor’s behalf.  (See The Human Revolution, “Blazing Sun” chapter and “New

4/2 Josei Toda’s Passing  In 1958, after fulfilling every one of his vows for kosen-rufu, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda’s noble life came to a close. He was 58. Standing alone amid the ruins of postwar Japan and carrying on the final injunction of founding Soka Gakkai President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Mr. Toda rebuilt the

3/5 Founding of the Men’s Division  In 1966, 750 representative Soka Gakkai members gathered with Ikeda Sensei at the Soka Gakkai headquarters in Tokyo to mark  the establishment of the men’s division. Sensei expressed his expectations of the men: “Become golden pillars supporting the citadel of Soka. … If the men’s division develops remarkably and

Establishing the teaching for unlocking the great human potential of all people.

On Feb. 27, 1990, women from across the country joined Ikeda Sensei and Kaneko Ikeda, SGI honorary women’s leader, for the First SGI-USA Women’s Division Meeting, held at the former Soka University of America campus in Calabasas, California. At the meeting, Sensei delivered his timeless guidance “Buddhism Is the Clear Mirror That Reflects Our Lives”

Feb The February Campaign  In February 1952, as the Kamata Chapter advisor, 24-year-old Daisaku Ikeda led the chapter in achieving the unprecedented monthly propagation result of 201 new households. To adorn second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda’s birth month with a significant milestone in propagation, he focused on each unit, the front line of the

On Jan. 26, 1975, the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) was established on the Pacific island of Guam—the site of fierce fighting between American and Japanese military forces—and of countless civilian deaths—during World War II. It was then-Soka Gakkai President Daisaku Ikeda’s vision to make Guam the symbolic starting point for this international movement to actualize

1/15 Establishment of the junior high school division In 1965, meetings of the high school and junior high school divisions were held throughout Japan, marking the establishment of the junior high school division. (See The New Human Revolution, vol. 9, “Young Phoenixes” chapter)  1/25 Sensei declared ‘not guilty’ in the Osaka Incident On July 3,

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Hall of the Great Vow for Kosen-rufu (November) and the 30th anniversary of Ikeda Sensei starting to write The New Human Revolution (August) and presenting the poem “The Sun of Jiyu Over a New Land” (January). And there are more wonderful dates to celebrate

12/2 Ikeda Sensei Started ‘The Human Revolution’ In 1964, Ikeda Sensei began writing The Human Revolution in Okinawa, the stage of a horrific land battle during the Pacific War. The Human Revolution, comprising 12 volumes, took more than 28 years to complete, with over 1,509 installments serialized in the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun.

Ninety-two years ago, on Nov. 18, 1930, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, first president of the Soka Gakkai, and his disciple, Josei Toda, published the first volume of The System of Value-Creating Education (Jpn Soka kyoikugaku taikei ). This date came to be known as the founding day of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai—the Society for Value-Creating Education. Informed

11/18 Soka Gakkai Founding Day  In 1930, founding Soka Gakkai President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, together with Josei Toda, published the first volume of The System of Value-Creating Education (Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei). This date later became known as the founding day of the Soka Gakkai. In November 2013,  based on his vow to lead all people to

Ikeda Sensei’s poem commemorates November 18, Soka Gakkai Founding Day. It was originally published in the February 2, 2001, World Tribune, pp. 4–5.

May 3: Soka Gakkai Day On May 3, 1951, Josei Toda was inaugurated the second Soka Gakkai president amid a war-torn, defeated Japan. Although the Soka Gakkai had just 3,000 active members at the time, Toda Sensei vowed in his inauguration address to spread the life-affirming philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism to 750,000 families in his

10/2 World Peace Day  In 1960, Ikeda Sensei departed for his first overseas trip to realize the ideals of his mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, and took his first steps for worldwide kosen-rufu in North and South America. (See The New Human Revolution, vol. 1, “Sunrise” chapter, and NHR-24, “Ode to Mothers” chapter)

Ikeda Sensei had been the third Soka Gakkai president for just five months when, on Oct. 2, 1960, he boarded Japan Airlines Flight 800 to Honolulu. It was his first overseas journey to spread Nichiren Buddhism. As the plane roared over the Pacific Ocean, Sensei placed his hand over his jacket’s inner breast pocket, where

9/8 65th Anniversary of Josei Toda’s Declaration for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons In 1957, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda made this declaration at the Mitsuzawa Stadium in Yokohama, Japan. He entrusted his successors in the youth division to spread throughout the world the belief that nuclear weapons are an absolute evil. This declaration