CategoryOur History

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

8/6 Ikeda Sensei Begins and Concludes The New Human Revolution In 1993, Ikeda Sensei began writing The New Human Revolution and completed it exactly 25 years later in 2018. This novel has been published in 13 languages in 24 countries and territories around the world.  8/14 75th Anniversary of Sensei’s First Encounter with Josei Toda

Ikeda Sensei joined the Soka Gakkai on Aug. 24, 1947, 75 years ago this month. In the following essay excerpt, Ikeda Sensei describes his first Soka Gakkai meeting and how encountering his mentor, Josei Toda, became the starting point for his lifelong struggle for peace. This essay originally appeared in the Aug. 24, 2011, Seikyo

Lecture on “The Quintessence of Thought and Philosophy”‘ On August 31, 1962, just over two years since becoming Soka Gakkai president, Ikeda Sensei began a five-year series of lectures to student division members on The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, a text he referred to as “the quintessence of thought and philosophy” (The New

The lion’s roar (shishi ku) is the preaching of the Buddha. The preaching of the Law means the preaching of the Lotus Sutra, or the preaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in particular. The first shi [which means “teacher”] of the word shishi, or “lion,” is the Wonderful Law that is passed on by the teacher. The second

7/1–2  Sapporo and Yubari Rallies  In 1957, in response to the religious discrimination of Soka Gakkai members in Yubari, Hokkaido, Ikeda Sensei held rallies in Sapporo and Yubari. (See The Human Revolution, “Stormy Days” and “Yubari” chapters)   7/3  Mentor and Disciple Day In 1945, Josei Toda, then-Soka Gakkai general director, was released from prison

The skies over Tokyo were clear and the air, warm. Outside the former Soka Gakkai Headquarters in Nishi-Kanda, Tokyo, 74 young women gathered under the stars.  The recently inaugurated second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda had assembled these young women on Thursday, July 19, 1951, to establish a division of their own.   Six years

The following episode highlights the inaugural meeting of the Soka Gakkai’s young men’s division, which was founded by second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda on July 11, 1951. The text was adapted from Ikeda Sensei’s novel The Human Revolution, pp. 588–94, in which he appears as Shin’ichi Yamamoto.  That day was rainy. A few minutes

In the summer of 1957, the 29-year-old Ikeda Sensei stood up to the Yubari Coal Miners’ Association and the Osaka City Prosecutors Office. These entities felt their authority threatened by the people’s movement of the Soka Gakkai and took steps to make members abandon their faith and dismantle the organization. Recalling these events, Sensei wrote:

On June 10, 1951, just a month after being inaugurated as second Soka Gakkai president, Josei Toda gathered some 50 women’s leaders at a French restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo. They faced tremendous suffering in the wake of Japan’s defeat in World War II. Yet the women strove to spread Nichiren Buddhism widely to help others

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 First Soka Gakkai President Tsunesaburo

65 Years of the Student Division

This month, we celebrate 65 years since second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda founded the student division on June 30, 1957. SGI-USA student division members are striving to expose their friends on campus to the power of Nichiren Buddhism to discover the great purpose of their lives. Ikeda Sensei recalled guidance from Mr. Toda on

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

4/2 Josei Toda’s Passing In 1958, Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda’s noble life of 58 years came to a close. Carrying on the final injunction of founding Soka Gakkai President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Mr. Toda had rebuilt the Soka Gakkai and achieved his lifetime membership goal of 750,000 households. This magnificent accomplishment shines eternally in

“Winter always turns to spring.” “The wise will rejoice while the foolish will retreat.” “Prayers offered by a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra will be answered just as an echo answers a sound.” “Although I and my disciples may encounter various difficulties, if we do not harbor doubts in our hearts, we will as a

3/5 Men’s Division Founding DayIn 1966, 750 representatives gathered with Ikeda Sensei at the Soka Gakkai headquarters in Tokyo, marking the establishment of the men’s division. On that occasion, Sensei said: “Become golden pillars supporting the citadel of Soka. … If the men’s division develops remarkably and establishes a solid framework for kosen-rufu, our organization

In the predawn chill of March 16, 1958, some 6,000 youth gathered at the foot of Mount Fuji for a solemn ceremony with their mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda. Mr. Toda was fighting the limits of his own mortality as he searched for ways to empower as many youth as possible to assume

Making a Vow on March 16 This year marks the 64th anniversary of March 16, 1958, when second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda passed the baton of achieving kosen-rufu to the youth. At his inauguration as Soka Gakkai president on May 3, 1951, Mr. Toda vowed to take the organization’s membership from 3,000 to 750,000

Every year on Feb. 27, the women of America celebrate SGI-USA Women’s Day by renewing their vow to become happy and help others do the same. On this day in 1990, representative women from across the country joined Ikeda Sensei and Kaneko Ikeda for the First SGI-USA Women’s Division Meeting, held at the former Soka