Episode 358 – A Nation in a Nation, Part 2

October 2, 2020 1 Comment

This week, we continue our look at the history of Soka Gakkai during the tenure of Toda Josei. We’ll also turn to the rise of the most influential figure in the movement today (and arguably its most influential leader ever): the third president of Soka Gakkai, Ikeda Daisaku.

Sources

Stone, Jacqueline. “Rebuking the Enemies of the Lotus: Nichirenist Exclusivism in Historical Perspective.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 21, No 2/3 (June-Sept, 1994).

Victoria, Brian Daizen. “Engaged Buddhism: A Skeleton in the Closet?” Journal of Global Buddhism 2 (2001)

Dator, James Allen. “The Soka Gakkai-Komeito and Its Role in the Sociopolitical Development of Postwar Japan.” The Journal of Developing Areas 6, No 3 (April, 1972).

Metraux, Daniel A. “The Dispute Between the Soka Gakkai and the Nichiren Shoshu Priesthood: A Lay Revolution Against a Conservative Clergy.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 14, No 4 (December, 1992).

Mcglaughlin, Levi. Soka Gakkai’s Human Revolution: The Rise of a Mimetic Nation Within Japan.

Images

Toda, bottom right, next to a Gohonzon, a scroll that serves as an object of home veneration in Nichiren Shoshu. Converts destroying their ihai (family memorial tablets) in favor of Gohonzon proved to be a major point of contention in the 1950s that led to the abandonment of aggressive prostelyzation methods.

 

1 thought on “Episode 358 – A Nation in a Nation, Part 2”

  1. When I went on a tour of Kyoto, our guide said that Nichiren Buddhism is seen like fundamentalist Christianity is in America. Learning about Soka Gakkai, now I see why. But they also sound a tad culty, especially since they run Komeito and the whole shakubuku thing.

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