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This Month in Soka Gakkai History (February)

February 2022

January 31, 2022

[08851-201504161424060021794319.jpg] A bust of second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda watches over the Hall of the Great Vow for Kosen-rufu adorned by cherry blossoms. (Shinanomachi, Tokyo, March 31, 2015)
Mentor—A bust of second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda watches over the Hall of the Great Vow for Kosen-rufu adorned by cherry blossoms in Tokyo, March 31, 2015. Photo courtesy of Seikyo Press.

Feb.

70 Years Since 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 very front line of the organization. (See The Human Revolution, “Dashing Forward” chapter and, The New Human Revolution, vol. 3, “Light of Peace” chapter)

2/11

Josei Toda’s Birthday

Josei Toda was born on Feb. 11, 1900, in a village called Shioya in present-day Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. After working his way through school, Mr. Toda became an elementary school teacher in Hokkaido. Mr. Toda then moved to Tokyo, where he encountered his mentor, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, who later became the founding president of the Soka Gakkai. Together with Mr. Makiguchi, he founded the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Value-Creating Education Society). After the end of the second world war, Mr. Toda rebuilt the Soka Gakkai, was inaugurated as second Soka Gakkai president on May 3, 1951, achieved his lifetime membership goal of 750,000 households and constructed the eternal foundation of kosen-rufu. (See An Introduction to Buddhism, second edition)

2/11

Establishment of the Toda Peace Institute

The Toda Peace Institute was established on Mr. Toda’s 96th birthday in 1996 as a nonpartisan organization committed to policy-oriented peace research.

2/17

70 Years Since Mr. Toda Set Forth the Idea of Global Citizenship

In 1952, Mr. Toda attended the first youth division panel discussion where he spoke about the idea of global citizenship. (See The Human Revolution, “Dashing Forward” chapter)

Adapted from the Jan. 15, 2022, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun.

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Encouragement That Plants the Seeds of Buddhahood in Others’ Hearts