Soka Gakkai was originally founded as Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Value-Creating Education Society) in 1930 by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944) and Josei Toda (1900-1958). An educator and author, Mr. Makiguchi was passionately dedicated to educational reform. His tireless quest to understand the basis of human happiness led to his encounter with the teachings of Nichiren in 1928. After studying Nichiren's philosophy, he realized it could provide the spiritual underpinning for his value-creating theory of education.
Mr. Makiguchi and Mr. Toda met in 1920. From that time, they worked closely together and both converted to Nichiren Buddhism. They founded Soka Kyoiku Gakkai to promote education centered on the development of individuals which recognized each person's inherent and unlimited potential. By 1942, membership had reached a peak of about 3,000.
As the course of World War II worsened for Japan, the militarist government intensified its effort to force the Japanese people to participate in and give allegiance to State Shinto, a measure aimed at bolstering loyalty to the faltering regime and its war effort. Mr. Makiguchi, however, flatly rejected the government decree, refusing to compromise his faith in Nichiren Buddhism and its core belief in the sanctity of life.
In 1943, Mr. Makiguchi, Mr. Toda, and other leaders of the organization were arrested and imprisoned on charges of "blasphemy" and "violation of the Maintenance of the Public Order Act." Mr. Makiguchi endured brutality and privation in prison, but held firm to his convictions. On November 18, 1944, he died in the Tokyo Detention House at the age of 73.
Josei Toda survived the ordeal of imprisonment and was released from prison on July 3, 1945, just weeks before Japan's unconditional surrender. Although ill and emaciated, Mr. Toda immediately set about rebuilding the organization, which had all but disintegrated under the wartime suppression. He renamed the organization Soka Gakkai (Value Creating Society), convinced that the group's mission should not be confined to just education and educators but should inspire and work toward actualizing happiness and fulfillment in the lives of all people. On May 3, 1951, seven years after rebuilding the organization, Mr. Toda formally assumed the position of the second president of Soka Gakkai. The organization grew rapidly to more than 750,000 households by the time of Mr. Toda's death in 1958.
On May 3, 1960, Daisaku Ikeda was inaugurated as third president. The organization expanded further and today counts a membership of more than 10 million individuals. In 1968, as a step toward fulfilling the vision of first president Makiguchi, Mr. Ikeda founded an educational system that now spans kindergarten to post-graduate levels. Other cultural institutions, such as the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum and the Min-On Concert Association, were also established. In the 1950s, second president Toda had called for the abolition of nuclear weapons; since the early 1970s, members have actively promoted peace awareness in Japan and around the world.
In January 1975, the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) was founded as a global umbrella for member organizations around the world, with Mr. Ikeda as its first president. In April 1979, Hiroshi Hojo succeeded Mr. Ikeda as fourth president of Soka Gakkai, the Japanese organization, with Mr. Ikeda assuming the position of honorary president, a position that he holds today. In July 1981, Einosuke Akiya became the fifth and current president.
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