From its earliest days, Buddhism has been a missionary religion (Keown 1996: 70). The Soka Gakkai are therefore not unique in upholding their concept of kosen rufu, or the mission of converting people to Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism (Baffelli 2011: 223).

What many people have often found controversial about the Soka Gakkai is the missionary zeal of its followers, including new converts. The movement’s argumentative mode of recruitment, shakubuku, placed it under increased scrutiny especially after the Second World War in Japan. It led to tensions with other schools of Buddhism and religions, and raised panics that Soka Gakkai members were brainwashed (Hammond and Machacek 2002: 1190). In the decades immediately after the War, the giant rallies and parades sponsored by Soka Gakkai sometimes reminded onlookers of the demonstrations of the wartime fascist groups. These features resulted in Soka Gakkai gaining notoriety in Japan and being labelled a ‘cult’, led by unscrupulous leaders with ulterior motives.

This image needs to be balanced with other perspectives of Soka Gakkai’s worship, especially outside Japan. In the USA, for example, the influence of celebrities within sports and entertainment (including Tina Turner, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr) highlights the creative and inclusive aspects of Soka Gakkai practices.

Although Nichiren Buddhism has a reputation for being intolerant towards other variants of Buddhism, the SGI organisations in different countries have adapted to their unique contexts quite flexibly. Thus, while Soka Gakkai in Japan remains relatively nationalist, SGI organisations tend to reflect the national cultures of their specific context and can be quite patriotic. This combination of patriotism and exotic foreign-ness partly explains Soka Gakkai’s appeal, for example, amongst the so-called ‘hippie generation’ in the USA (Montgomery 1991: 211).

There have been high-profile celebrity converts to Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism prior to its schism with Soka Gakkai in the early 1990s and to post-schism Soka Gakkai. These include Oscar nominee Sal Mineo (of Rebel Without a Cause), Grammy-winning rock star Tina Turner, jazz legend Herbie Hancock, footballer Roberto Baggio, film star Orlando Bloom (of The Lord of the Rings fame), and pop star Boy George (nusch 2018).

This popularity of Soka Gakkai amongst international celebrities grew alongside the changes introduced by Ikeda, such as cultural activities, including an Arts Division and a music corps starting from the 1950s (Daisaku Ikeda Website Committee 2018). In 1963, Ikeda founded the Min-On Concert Association to promote “the global exchange of musical culture with the aim of developing mutual understanding and respect among people of different races and nationalities” (Min-On Concert Association 2018).

As a lay organisation that had its origins in Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, Soka Gakkai shares some common traits with other schools of Japanese Buddhism. For one thing, in contrast to Indian expressions of Buddhism, Japanese Buddhism is relatively more ‘social’ and emphasises community and group values (Keown 1996: 78). Some influential teachers have even frowned upon monasticism and encouraged monks to marry and remain active in social life.

The Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu, however, remained fiercely independent when Japan’s wartime government attempted to impose national unity by enforcing religious uniformity. The Imperial government pressured small sects to merge with larger ones so that they could be controlled more easily. The Soka Gakkai resisted this state imposition which led to the imprisonment of Soka Gakkai founder Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and his disciple Josei Toda. This zealous independence went on to inform the political and religious ambitions of the movement’s third president, Daisaku Ikeda.

Nichiren Shoshu, but not Soka Gakkai, has an ambition to convert all of Japan to Nichiren Buddhism. This goal traces its origins to a fusion of politics, faith and practice embedded in the Three Secret Dharmas that developed within Nichiren Buddhism. The first two dharmas – o daimoku (sacred chanting) and the Gohonzon (the mandala) – have been explained and were realised during Nichiren’s lifetime in the thirteenth century (McLaughlin 2015: 12). The third Secret Dharma remains to be achieved and is the most overtly political. This is the honmon no kaidan, the “true ordination platform” – a government-sponsored facility which will enshrine the Dai-gohonzon, to be worshipped through o daimoku when everyone in Japan has converted to Nichiren Buddhism.

It is against this background that the Soka Gakkai in Japan – as a branch of Nichiren – are often regarded as nationalists who are willing to fuse religion and politics (for instance, via the creation of Komeito). This fusion of Japanese nationalism and Buddhism does not apply, however, to SGI organisations.

In the post-War years, the appeal of Toda’s leadership to the more marginalised members of Japanese society meant that Soka Gakkai attracted large numbers of people who were poor and uneducated, especially those who were housewives (McLaughlin 2015: 13). This attractiveness enabled Soka Gakkai in Japan and, to a greater extent, SGI organisations in other countries to encourage the growth of new communities amongst members.

Soka Gakkai regards itself as the sole and true inheritor of Nichiren’s dharma, which has often placed it squarely in opposition not only to other Buddhists, but to other Nichiren-based sub-schools (McLaughlin 2015: 4). This tendency to schism had an early precedent when the Nichiren Shoshu sub-school emerged in the late thirteenth century through the establishment of its head temple at Taiseki-ji. After Soka Gakkai broke with Nichiren Shoshu in the 1990s, however, there appeared to be an upsurge in diversity amongst SGI organisations in different countries.

The different SGI organisations also have their own approaches to inclusion and diversity. For example, SGI-UK highlights the testimonies of members who come from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community or who are of ethnic minority backgrounds (SGI-UK 2017: 27–29, 32–33).

In line with historical Buddhist teachings, the Soka Gakkai see birth and death as essential phases of a ‘changeless force’ that exists eternally, or the fundamental ‘life-force’ around us (SGI-UK 2017: 29). What we know as ‘life’ is the phase in which the life-force is manifest, while what we know as ‘death’ is merely a phase in which the life-force is dormant. Birth and death thus repeat in an endless cycle whilst the fundamental life-force remains unchanged.

This relates to a belief common to most (Mahayana) Buddhists, that all living creatures are part of this cycle of birth and death and will continue to be reborn until they attain nirvana (enlightenment) (Keown 1996: 29). However, Buddhist teachings hold that neither the beginning of cyclic rebirth nor its end can ever be known with certainty. At the same time, it is widely held that the number of rebirths a person can go through is almost infinite. The concept of reincarnation predated the emergence of Buddhism in India and was already associated with the doctrine of karma – the idea that our moral deeds in our present lives would determine the circumstances of our rebirth.

The Soka Gakkai understanding of nirvana and karma is slightly different from that in some other forms of Buddhism, however. The Lotus Sutra teaches that one is already enlightened – “the essential nature of our lives at any moment is that of a Buddha”, a state also known as “Buddhahood” and as “awakening to the greater self” (SGI 2015). When this is realised, life can be lived full of joy and purpose – with the primary purpose being to awaken others to their Buddha nature. The circumstances of our lives, including suffering, “become the means to demonstrate the power of the Buddha nature and form bonds of empathy with others” (SGI 2015). Our lives are not then guided by karma but by this mission.

The main practice engaged in by followers of Soka Gakkai is o daimoku, or the daily chanting of the phrase Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Members hold that this practice is what helps them to raise their ‘life-condition’ and change previously held attitudes into more positive ways of being (SGI-UK 2017: 3). In addition, daily practice involves reciting important portions of the Lotus Sutra. Together, the daily practices of o daimoku and recitation of the Lotus Sutra are known as ‘gongyo’, which means ‘assiduous practice’. After a prospective member has been practising gongyo for a few months, they receive their own Gohonzon replica in a ceremony called gojukai, to “take the precepts,” or uphold exclusive reverence for the Gohonzon (McLaughlin 2013). The Gohonzon is a paper scroll inscribed with the words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Nichiren.

Some tips from Soka Gakkai on how to chant include (SGI-UK 2017: 14):

• Sitting upright with palms together and eyes open
• Repeating the phrase Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, focusing on sincerity and correct pronunciation
• Chanting in a ‘firm, clear, vibrant’ voice without worrying too much about volume
• Chanting for as long as it is desired

Soka Gakkai also engage in regular study of the letters (‘gosho’) addressed by Nichiren Daishonin to his disciples. These individual practices are complemented by collective Buddhist activities organised by what are known as ‘local districts’, which can take the form of discussion meetings held in people’s homes (SGI-UK 2017: 5). Sharing the teachings with others with a view to helping them overcome their problems is a central practice of SGI.

Soka Gakkai voluntary ‘ministers of ceremony’ perform life cycle rituals for members including weddings and funerals.

Soka Gakkai teachings emphasise the importance of people transforming themselves at the individual level as a means of transforming the world, through ‘mentor and disciple’ relationships (SGI-UK 2017: 3). SGI organisations are largely concerned about the negative impacts of climate change, nuclear armament, and poverty, and uphold a common charter with the following purposes and principles (Soka Gakkai International (SGI) 1995):

1. SGI shall contribute to peace, culture and education for the happiness and welfare of all humanity based on Buddhist respect for the sanctity of life.

2. SGI, based on the ideal of world citizenship, shall safeguard fundamental human rights and not discriminate against any individual on any grounds.

3. SGI shall respect and protect the freedom of religion and religious expression.

4. SGI shall promote an understanding of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism through grassroots exchange, thereby contributing to individual happiness.

5. SGI shall, through its constituent organisations, encourage its members to contribute toward the prosperity of their respective societies as good citizens.

6. SGI shall respect the independence and autonomy of its constituent organisations in accordance with the conditions prevailing in each country.

7. SGI shall, based on the Buddhist spirit of tolerance, respect other religions, engage in dialogue and work together with them toward the resolution of fundamental issues concerning humanity.

8. SGI shall respect cultural diversity and promote cultural exchange, thereby creating an international society of mutual understanding and harmony.

9. SGI shall promote, based on the Buddhist ideal of symbiosis, the protection of nature and the environment.

10. SGI shall contribute to the promotion of education, in pursuit of truth as well as the development of scholarship, to enable all people to cultivate their individual character and enjoy fulfilling and happy lives.”

Soka Gakkai International has an estimated 12 million adherents in 192 countries (Gebert 2017). There are SGI organisations in more than 30 European countries with a total membership of more than 135,000. SGI-UK has a membership of 14,000 spread across 630 local groups. In Japan, Soka Gakkai has more than eight million affiliated households (Baffelli 2011: 217). After the schism between Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu, SGI organisations were able to claim greater autonomy and adapt more flexibly to their national and local contexts. In Japan, the post-schism organisation of Soka Gakkai is dependent upon its links with its political party, New Komeito. Komeito enjoyed electoral successes since its founding in the 1960s, but gained unprecedented influence when it re-launched in 1998 as New Komeito and became the junior partner in a government coalition in 1999, led by the Liberal Democratic Party (Baffelli 2011: 224; McLaughlin 2015: 3).

Traditionally, New Komeito’s elected representatives have upheld Soka Gakkai’s principles when voting in the Diet (the national legislature of Japan, composed of the House of Councillors and the House of Representatives). This includes the Diet’s commitment to pacifism, which is also enshrined in Japan’s post-war constitution (Article 9). In 2014, however, the overwhelming majority of New Komeito parliamentarians said they supported Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s proposal to amend the Constitution to allow for limited participation in ‘self defence’ (McLaughlin 2015: 8). They saw this not as a relinquishing of pacifism, however, but as a compromise through which other clauses on human rights, privacy and protection of the environment, might be added (Harding 2016).

The shift in attitudes amongst New Komeito’s Diet representatives sparked off major protests amongst Soka Gakkai members starting in 2015. The Soka Gakkai leadership has officially distanced itself from the protests (McLaughlin 2015: 9). Meanwhile, New Komeito politicians continue to enjoy high levels of support at the local government level. These political developments within Japan do not appear to have had a negative impact on the organisation of SGI organisations in other parts of the world.

Makiguchi and his disciple, Jose Toda (1900-1958), were imprisoned during the Second World War on charges of lèse-majesté for refusing to comply with the Religious Organisations Act (1940). The Act effectively established Shinto as the national religion of Japan, and was designed to promote patriotism and loyalty to the rapidly militarising regime (Hammond and Machacek 2002: 1190). However, it was replaced with a new constitution in 1946 which broke the relationship between religion and the State. The new constitution offered religious freedom for the first time in Japanese history and allowed religions to operate free from state interference, but also without state support (Reader 2002: 718).

Toda assumed the presidency of Soka Gakkai after Makiguchi’s death in prison in 1944 and, upon his release, revitalised Makiguchi’s fractured movement. He dropped the word ‘Kyoiku’ (‘Educational’) from the movement’s name and reorganised it as a lay movement affiliated with Nichiren Shoshu. The emphasis on health, wealth and happiness in Toda’s teachings resonated with significantly large audiences in post-War Tokyo, especially those who were displaced, and the movement grew rapidly (Montgomery 1991: 1190).

In 1947, Toda met Daisaku Ikeda, a 19-year-old who greatly impressed him. Toda soon employed Ikeda at one of his companies and became his mentor. In 1960, two years after Toda’s death, Ikeda succeeded him as the president of Soka Gakkai. During Ikeda’s presidency, Soka Gakkai launched its own political party, Komeito (‘Clean Government’), in 1961, which went on to perform well in elections. The political success of Komeito, along with the more assertive proselytising by Soka Gakkai, alarmed many members of the public and provoked a considerable backlash (Montgomery 1991: 196).

At the same time, Soka Gakkai innovated and expanded even further under Ikeda’s leadership. In 1975, he became the first president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) (SGI-UK 2017: 43). Since then, Ikeda has remained the president of SGI, whilst he has been succeeded by other leaders in the presidency of SG within Japan (although he remains the honorary president).

During these post-War decades, there were underlying tensions between Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu. Things came to a head in 1990, when the high priest of Nichiren Shoshu accused Ikeda of equating the priesthood with the laity (Hammond and Machacek 2002: 1190). Although the Soka Gakkai leadership issued a formal apology, these tensions continued to grow and in 1991, the Nichiren Shoshu high priest ordered Soka Gakkai to disband and excommunicated all members who remained affiliated to it.

The split with Nichiren Shoshu has appeared to benefit Soka Gakkai International, especially by enhancing the local autonomy of its international organisations which became more able to adapt to their immediate environments. To fill the clerical gap, Soka Gakkai developed roles for voluntary ‘ministers of ceremony’ who now preside over weddings, funerals, and other rituals (Hammond and Machacek 2002: 1191) (see Religious/Ritual Practice section below). Lay leaders outside of Japan had already been fulfilling this function prior to the formalisation of the role.