CategoryOur History

The following excerpts are from The World of Nichiren’s Writings, a discussion between Ikeda Sensei and Soka Gakkai study department leaders on the life of Nichiren and context of his writings. They can be found in vol. 1, pp. 2–3. Katsuji Saito: To begin with, I would like to ask about Nichiren’s writings in general

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

NEW SERIES! Installment 1: Vow

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

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)

The following installment is from “Nichiren: His Life and Legacy,” adapted from Ikeda Sensei’s series The World of Nichiren Daishonin’s Writings. It was originally published in November 2011 Living Buddhism, pp. 41–45. From the Editors Following the execution attempt at Tatsunokuchi Beach, Nichiren Daishonin. was detained under house arrest for about a month in what

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

On January 26, 1975, 158 representatives from 51 countries and territories gathered for the First World Peace Conference on the Pacific Island of Guam, the site of intense fighting during the Pacific War. Here, the group established the Soka Gakkai International, naming Daisaku Ikeda its president. Having bore witness to the horrors of war in

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

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