I. Profile Report

1. Name: Soka Gakkai International is the official name of the lay organization of the Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist religion.

2. Founder: Nikko Shonin started the religion in Japan. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda began the lay group Soka Gakkai, and Masayasu Sadanaga (who changed his name to George M. Williams) began the group in the United States.

3. Date of Births: Not found

4. Years Founded: Shonin founded the group sometime after 1290 by erecting a temple at the foot of Mt. Fuji. The group was relatively small until Makiguchi and Toda formed Soka-kyoiku-gakkai (Value-creating, Education Society) in 1930. Sadanaga brought the religion to the United States (Washington D.C.) in 1957.

5. Brief History: Nichiren Daishonin (the Great Holy One) (1222-1282) was a Buddhist reformer who believed that a greater Buddha than Sakyamuni would redeem earth. When he died, some of his followers were chosen to protect and upkeep his tomb. After a dispute over the responsibility, Nikko Shonin left the group and established a temple, Taiseki-ji, at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

   The religion lived, in small numbers, until Makiguchi, at odds with the Japanese government (who held as a state religion, Shintoism), established the Soka Gakkai. He was arrested for his beliefs and died in jail. Toda became president of the group and rallied 300,000 peasants at Makiguchi's funeral. The religion rapidly developed a large lay membership. The group grew in Japan under the leadership of Toda.

   Daisaku Ikeda, executive director since 1960, spread the religion around the world. Among his first trips was to the United States to rally members there. The first members of Soka Gakkai in the United States were some 300 Japanese war brides that joined in Japan and then brought Nichiren Shoshu to the U.S. In addition to their efforts to practice and spread the faith, Ikeda's path had also been paved by Sadanaga, who, in 1957, had begun to organize in Washington D.C. The Los Angeles Kaikan (headquarters) was the first established in the United States by Sadanaga in 1963. In 1967, priests arrived in the country to complement the lay population already there. In 1972, Sadanaga changed his name to Williams, and actively recruited Caucasian members. In 1975 the Soka Gakkai International was formed based on Ideka's and William's work in the United States and elsewhere. The Soka Gakkai separated from Nichiren Shoshu (organization of priests) in 1991. (For more information on the factors underlying this separation, see the section entitled "Contemporary Issues and Controversies" on the Nichiren Shoshu page on this site.

6. Sacred or Revered Texts: The Soka Gakkai follow Nichiren's advice, who stated that the Lotus Sutra (Gongyo) contained the one needful truth and should be given an exclusive place among Buddhism's other teachings.

7. Cult or Sect:

   Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" and "sect" are employed in popular discourse. Since the Religious Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes. For a more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find additional links to related issues.

8. Beliefs: Members are required to engage in three different practices. The first is the worship of the Gohonson, the sacred scroll. Thousands of devotees travel to the temple in the base of Mount Fuji every year to visit it. The second is the sacred place of ordination, or kaidan. The third is chanting. The importance of chanting is felt in all parts of life. Members are encouraged to chant in their spare time, in times of stress or doubt, and in times of need. The predominant chant in Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, meaning "reverence to the wonderful law of the Lotus." This chant, along with passages from the Lotus Sutra, embody Nichiren's teachings.

9. Size of Group: Estimates of the size of the Soka Gokkai membership in the U.S. vary enormously. The Encyclopedia of American Religions reported that Nichiren Shoshu claimed 300,000 members in the United States in 1985. A recent Time magazine article (November 20, 1995) claimed over 8.1 million members. More conservative sources would place the number much lower. John Fletcher, a member of SGI-USA since 1971 places active membership at about 20,000. Fletcher defines an active member is defined as one who attends the group's meetings, supports the SGI's goals, and subscribes to some SGI-USA publications. (personal correspondance 09/03/01).

10. Remarks: After World War II, Soka Gakkai made headlines as its political arm, the Komeito (Clean Government party), gained popularity among the Japanese. By the 1970's the party had become the third largest in the country, and Ideka was meeting with important emissaries from other countries to propose his ideas about world peace. The Soka Gakkai are today an important force in Japanese politics. Soka Gakkai has a vigorous missionizing program worldwide. They are established in almost all European countries, in most of Asia, and are found in several countries in Africa. A recent book by Brian Wilson and Karel Dobbelaere describes the growth of the movement in Great Britian.

II. Links to Nichiren Shoshu Web Sites

Soka Gakkai International - USA
The official homepage of the Soka Gakkai in the United States, this web site provides information about Nichiren, his teachings, places of worship, how to order publications, and the methods of joining.
http://www.sgi-usa.org/index.html

Introduction to Nichiren Shoshu
An unofficial home page documenting all the facts about the group since its founding days in the thirteenth century.
http;//www.primenet.com/~martman/intro_to_ns.html

Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism
This unofficial homepage is put together by Craig Thatcher who supports his religion with full documentation on most everything the group does. However, he balances his page with a critique of Ideka and Toda, president and former president of Soka Gakkai. He does not feel the two men are living the words they professed to believe in when they started the group.
http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/jqpublic/Nshoshu.html

Soka Gakkai Expose
An in-depth article surrounding the concept of chanting, group organizations and spiritual paths. The author questions Nichiren Shoshu's push for "democratic Buddhism." Why should people forsake morality and personal goals for the political, material goals of the party or organization?
http://www.sgi-usa.org/index.html

The Official Clearing House
This page is vehemently opposed to Soka Gakkai and includes a rueful look at photographs capturing Ideka and other members in compromising positions. An anti-cult page that is dipped in anger, yet fully researched.
http://coyote.accessnv.com/tamonten/

III. Selected References

Books



Causton, Richard. 1988.

Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism: An Introduction. London: London Rider.



Dator, James A. 1969.

Soka Gakkai: Builders of the Third Civilization: American and Japanese Members. Seattle: University of Washington Press.



Ellwood, Robert S. 1974.

The Eagle and the Rising Sun: Americans and the New Religions of Japan. Philadelphia: Westminster Press.



Hurst, Jane D. 1992.

Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism and the Soka Gakkai in America: The Ethos of a New Religious Movement. New York: Garland Publishing.



White, James W. 1970.

The Soka Gakkai and Mass Society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.



Wilson, Brian and Karel Dobbelaere. 1994.

A Time to Chant: The Soka Gakkai Buddhists in Great Britain. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Articles



Babbie, Earl T. 1966.

"The Third Civilization: An Examination of Soka Gakkai." Review of Religious Research, 7, 101-121.



Garringues, S. L. 1975.

"The Sokka Gakkai Enshrining Ceremony: Ritual Change in a Japanese Buddhist Sect in America." Eastern Anthropologist 1975, 28, 2, Apr-Jun, 133-146.



Morgan, Peggy. 1987.

"Methods and Aims of Evangelization and Conversion to Buddhism, with Particular Reference to Nichiren Shoshu Soka Gakkai." The New Evangelists: Recruitment Methods of New Religious Movements. London: Ethnographica.



Parks, Yoko Yamamoto, 1982.

"Organizational Development and Cultural Contact: A Case Study of Sokka Gakkai in America." Journal of Ethnic Studies 1982, 10(1):1-16.



Snow, David A. 1987.

"Organization, Ideology, and Mobilization: The Case of Nichiren Shoshu of America," in David G. Bromley and Phillip E. Hammond (eds.), The Future of New Religious Movements. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.



Shupe, Anson D. 1986.

"Militancy and Accommodation in the Third Civilization: The Case of Japan's Soka Gakkai Movement," in Jeffrey K. Hadden's and Anson D. Shupe (eds.) Prophetic Religion and Politics. New York: Paragon House.

Last modified: 09/06/01