CategoryThe Brilliant Path of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Chapter Summary In early 1979, Shin’ichi traveled to Tohoku on a guidance trip. Attending a January 12 meeting to commemorate the opening of Mizusawa Culture Center in Iwate prefecture, he encouraged everyone to become pillars of society. Many attending this 1979 meeting went on many years later to play key roles in helping fellow community

Chapter Summary Shin’ichi Yamamoto arrived in Hong Kong on February 3, 1979. The next day he made his first visit to the Kowloon Community Center where he attended a meeting commemorating the 18th anniversary of kosen-rufu activities in the territory. After midnight on February 6, he arrived in New Delhi, India. Later that afternoon, he

This installment, published in the May 19, 2021, Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that Ikeda Sensei discusses in volume 29 of The New Human Revolution. The official English translation of volume 29 will be published at a later date. As such, these excerpts are subject to later revisions. Passage 1 “Always

by SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda

Chapter Summary On June 28, 1978, Shin’ichi Yamamoto began writing lyrics for the new student division song. Meanwhile, unwarranted attacks on the Soka Gakkai by the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood intensified. Aiming to give hope and courage to his fellow members, Shin’ichi began composing Soka Gakkai songs. The student division song “Onward to Kosen-rufu” debuted at

Chapter Summary At a commemorative leaders meeting at the Shikoku Training Center on July 25, 1978, Shin’ichi Yamamoto spoke about the essence of the Soka philosophy of humanism explaining that ordinary people inherently possess the Buddha nature. He expressed his great hope that many capable people emerge from the Shikoku region. The next day, he

Chapter Summary On September 11, 1978, Shin’ichi Yamamoto departed on his fourth trip to China. The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People’s Republic of China had recently been signed in August. On this trip and in this new era of Sino-Japanese relations, he sought to broaden the ties between the two

Chapter Summary On October 7, 1978, representatives from 120 islands throughout Japan assembled at the Soka Gakkai Headquarters for the first Outlying Islands Headquarters General Meeting. Ahead of this gathering, Shin’ichi had poured his all into encouraging chapter leaders from Okinawa as well as representatives from other islands. Members living on various islands throughout Japan

This installment, published in the April 22, 2021, Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that Ikeda Sensei discusses in volume 28 of The New Human Revolution. The official English translation of volume 28 will be published at a later date. As such, these excerpts are subject to later revisions. Passage 1 “If

by SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda

Chapter Summary Tokyo Soka Elementary School opened on April 9, 1978, with a festive mood pervading its first entrance ceremony. After the ceremony, the school’s founder, Shin’ichi Yamamoto, took group photos and planted trees with the students to mark the occasion. The previous day, he had toured the campus and engaged in conversations with teachers

Chapter Summary In 1978, many young Nichiren Shoshu priests intensified their attacks on the Soka Gakkai and its members. With the start of the Soka Gakkai’s second phase of worldwide kosen-rufu in 1972, Shin’ichi Yamamoto had been steadily opening the way for global kosen-rufu, centered on developing a study movement in the organization focused on

Chapter Summary Meetings commemorating May 3, Soka Gakkai Day, which also marked Shin’ichi Yamamoto’s 18th anniversary as Soka Gakkai president, were held at community and culture centers throughout Japan. At Soka University, he attended an awards presentation for those who had helped establish the organization’s foundation where he emphasized the importance of pursuing faith, practice

Chapter Summary On May 27, Shin’ichi Yamamoto encouraged the Tohoku Region women’s leader and women’s secretary at the Tohoku Peace Center. He also met with representatives of the six prefectures that comprise Tohoku and, the following day, attended the Miyagi Prefecture leaders meeting. In the evening, he strolled through the ruins of Aoba Castle known

This installment, published in the March 18, 2021, Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that Ikeda Sensei discusses in volume 27 of The New Human Revolution. The official English translation of volume 27 will be published in the future. As such, these excerpts are subject to later revisions. Passage 1 “Do not

by SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda

Chapter Summary On September 30, 1977, Shin’ichi Yamamoto traveled to the recently completed Toda Memorial Park Cemetery, located in the hometown of his mentor, Josei Toda, in Atsuta Village (present-day Atsuta Ward, Ishikari City), Hokkaido. This was a way to pay eternal tribute to President Toda and build a “spiritual home for Soka mentors and

Chapter Summary The New Year’s Headquarters Leaders Meeting in the Soka Gakkai’s second Year of Study was held on January 6, 1978. The implementation of a new chapter system for the second phase of kosen-rufu was announced at this meeting. Existing greater blocks would become chapters. Like their predecessors in the pioneering days, they would

Chapter Summary On January 19, Shinichi Yamamoto traveled to the Shikoku Training Center in Kagawa Prefecture. It was nighttime when he stood in the garden overlooking the sea and gazed toward the site of the Battle of Yashima, which had taken place during the Genpei War (1180–85). He thought of Nichiren Daishonin’s treatise, “On Establishing

Chapter Summary On January 27, 1978, Shin’ichi Yamamoto visited Suginami Ward in Tokyo to attend the Honan Chapter inaugural meeting. This kicked off the nationwide inaugural chapter meetings that marked the start of the new chapter system. Shin’ichi observed that rather than being an outpost, like a regional office of a business, the chapter serves