CategoryThe Brilliant Path of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Chapter Summary On June 1, an announcement was made that the high school and junior high school divisions would be established within the youth division. On June 7, Shin’ichi Yamamoto attended the inaugural ceremony of the Tokyo No. 2 Headquarters young men’s high school division. On January 15, 1965, the junior high school division was

Chapter Summary The youth are the ones who will take the lead in the “essential era” of kosen-rufu. In June 1964, the young women’s division achieved a membership of one million, while the student division reached fifty thousand by June 30, the date of their Student Division general meeting. During this meeting, Shin’ichi Yamamoto announced

Chapter Summary In October 1964, a palpable excitement pervaded Japan about the Olympics, which were taking place in Tokyo. The October 24 closing ceremony highlighted countless dramas of athletes trans-cending national and ethnic differences. Some mingled about while others walked arm in arm around the track. Shin’ichi Yamamoto watched this closing ceremony on television. Each

This installment, published in the June 19, 2019, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that SGI President Ikeda discussed in volume 9 of The New Human Revolution. Passage 1 “Regard your service to your lord as the practice of the Lotus Sutra.” (“Reply to a Believer,” The Writings of

by SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda

Chapter Summary Three years had passed since Shin’ichi Yamamoto was inaugurated as the third Soka Gakkai president, and kosen-rufu was developing rapidly. Ahead of the 25th Headquarters General Meeting, he carefully considered his next steps, as the seventh memorial (sixth anniversary) of Josei Toda’s passing approached the following spring. He determined to pass on to

Chapter Summary On July 1, Shin’ichi Yamamoto, at a young men’s leaders meeting, announced that the seventh memorial (sixth anniversary) of Josei Toda’s death on April 2, 1964, would be the start of the essential phase of the Soka Gakkai’s development. By “essential phase,” Shin’ichi meant the time when the actual work of kosen-rufu would

Chapter Summary On July 28, Shin’ichi Yamamoto attended the first all-Japan Soka Gakkai Writers Department general meeting. He appealed to them that the mission of the Writers Department is to expose lies and malicious reporting that seek to agitate the people, and “to forge a fresh climate of public opinion in which true peace and

Chapter Summary On November 23, the news of U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s assassination shocked the world. Shin’ichi Yamamoto thought about the thousand days that Kennedy had struggled as president. He determined to work to bring an end to discrimination and to create eternal peace in the world. At the November Headquarters Leaders Meeting, it

This installment, published in the May 22, 2019, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that SGI President Ikeda discussed in volume 8 of The New Human Revolution. Passage 1 “Buddhism primarily concerns itself with victory or defeat.” (“The Hero of the World,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1,

by SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda

Chapter Summary “Great religion always gives birth to great culture” (The New Human Revolution, vol. 7, p. 1)—Shin’ichi Yamamoto believed that kosen-rufu is a movement to illuminate the hearts of humanity with the compassionate light of Buddhism and bring to blossom exquisite flowers of peace and culture. In 1962, Shin’ichi focused his efforts on cultivating

Chapter Summary On January 8, 1963, Shin’ichi embarked on his trip around the world to lay the groundwork for the future of worldwide kosen-rufu. His first stop was Hawaii, where he attended the Hawaii Conference, which doubled as the inaugural meeting of Hawaii Chapter. After urging the members to “unfurl the great banner of propagation

Chapter Summary Shin’ichi Yamamoto arrived in Paris on January 15, and, the next day, he attended the inaugural meeting of the Europe General Chapter and Paris Chapter. Representatives from the newly formed Germany Chapter also attended. Shin’ichi asserted that a sunny, early spring had come to Europe, saying, “Each of you is the sun, bringing

Chapter Summary On the night of January 23, heavy blizzards hit Niigata Prefecture, stalling 26 trains, six of which remained immobile until January 27. One of them was a chartered train carrying nine hundred Soka Gakkai members on their way home from a pilgrimage to the head temple. Their train was stuck at Miyauchi Station,

This installment, published in the April 17, 2019, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that SGI President Ikeda discussed in volume 7 of The New Human Revolution. Passage 1 “Even if you are not the Venerable Mahakashyapa, you should all perform a dance. Even if you are not Shariputra,

by SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda

Chapter Summary On January 29, 1962, Shin’ichi Yamamoto set off on his first trip to the Middle East, vowing in his heart to transform the world into a treasure land of eternal peace based on Buddhist humanism. Two days before his departure, he met with Torazo Kawarazaki, a Soka Gakkai member and an expert in

Chapter Summary On February 2, Shin’ichi and his companions arrived in Turkey. Looking back on the history of relations between Japan and Turkey, he observed that although diplomatic relations between nations are important, the ties between their people are fundamental. While in Turkey, they visited the Dolmabahçe Palace and other sites. The group traveled onward

Chapter Summary On a tract of reclaimed land jutting into Japan’s Hakata Bay, there was a shantytown that the locals called Dokan, which was considered a rough, unsafe area, inhabited by people who ended up there due to various severe hardships. As the momentum of the Soka Gakkai’s propagation efforts accelerated toward the goal of