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	{{Distinguish|Daisuke Ikeda}}		{{Distinguish|Daisuke Ikeda}}
	{{POV-check|date=July 2014}}		{{autobiography|date=March 2024}}
			{{Short description|Japanese buddhist leader (1928–2023)}}
			{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
	{{Infobox president
			{{Infobox officeholder
	|name=Daisaku Ikeda
			| name = Daisaku Ikeda
	|image= Daisaku_Ikeda_1961.jpg
			| image = DaisakuIkedaTokyoMay2010.jpg
	|caption=
			| caption = Ikeda in 2010
	|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1928|1|2|df=y}}
			| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|1|2|df=y}}
	|died date unknown 2013
	|birth_place = ], ], ]		| birth_place = ], ]
			| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|11|15|1928|1|2|df=y}}
	|spouse = Kaneko Ikeda (])
			| death_place = ], Japan
	|children = Hiromasa Ikeda (])<br />Takahiro Ikeda (])
			| spouse = Kaneko Ikeda (])
			| parents = {{unbulleted list|Ichi Ikeda (mother)|Nenokichi Ikeda (father)}}
	|alma_mater = Fuji Junior College (present-day ])<ref name=SokaUniv>{{cite web|title=Daisaku Ikeda Profile|url=http://www.soka.ac.jp/en/about/founder/profile.html|publisher=Soka University|accessdate=22 February 2013}}</ref>
			| children = 3 (1 deceased)
	|office1 = President of ]
			| alma_mater = Fuji Junior College (present-day ])<ref name=SokaUniv>{{cite web|title=Daisaku Ikeda Profile|url=http://www.soka.ac.jp/en/about/founder/profile.html|publisher=Soka University|access-date=22 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023110825/http://www.soka.ac.jp/en/about/founder/profile.html|archive-date=23 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
	|term_start1 = 26 January 1975
	|office2 = Honorary President of ]		| office = President of ]
			| term_start = 26 January 1975
	|term_start2 = 24 April 1979
			| term_end = 15 November 2023
	|office3 = 3rd President of ]
			| office1 = Honorary President of ]
	|term3 = 3 May 1960&nbsp;– 23 April 1979
			| term_start1 = 24 April 1979
	|predecessor3 = ]
			| term_end1 = 15 November 2023
	|successor3 = Hiroshi Hojo (])
			| predecessor1 =
			| successor1 =
			| office2 = 3rd President of ]
			| term_start2 = 3 May 1960
			| term_end2 = 24 April 1979
			| predecessor2 = ]<br />]
			| successor2 = Hiroshi Hōjō (])<br />]<br />]
			| residence = Japan, ], ], Shinanomachi (])|
			| website = {{URL|daisakuikeda.org}}
	}}		}}
	{{Nihongo|'''Daisaku Ikeda'''|池田 大作|Ikeda Daisaku|born January 2, 1928, Japan}} is the founder and current president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), the international offshoot of ], a Japanese ] informed by the teachings of ] which, according to its own account, has more than 12 million members.<ref>{{cite web|title=Profile: Soka Gakkai International|url=http://esango.un.org/civilsociety/showProfileDetail.do?method=showProfileDetails&tab=3&profileCode=811|work=Civil Society Participation|publisher=NGO Branch, UN Dept of Economic and Social Affairs|accessdate=24 September 2013}}</ref> In 1996, he was described in a ''Los Angeles Times'' article as a "puzzle of conflicting perceptions", ranging from "Japan's most powerful man" and a "threat to democracy", to an "inspired teacher" and "man of deep learning".<ref name=crusadercorrupter>{{cite news|last=Watanabe|first=Teresa|title=Japan's Crusader or Corrupter?|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1996-03-15/news/mn-47383_1_soka-gakkai|accessdate=3 December 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=15 March 1996}}</ref> Ikeda and Soka Gakkai have been the frequent targets of criticism for fostering a cult of personality centered on Ikeda.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bluck|first=Robert|title=British Buddhism Teachings, Practice and Development.|year=2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415483087|pages=98–99}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Befu|first=edited by Harumi|title=Globalizing Japan: ethnography of the Japanese presence in Asia, Europe, and America|year=2003|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0415285667|pages=104–105|edition=1. publ.|author2=Guichard-Anguis, Sylvie}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Prohl|first=edited by Inken|title=Handbook of contemporary Japanese religions|year=2012|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=978-9004234352|pages=300–302|author2=Nelson, John}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Komeito: Searching for Party Reconstruction|journal=Japan Quarterly|date=January–March 1981|volume=28|issue=2|pages=155|accessdate=3 December 2013|publisher=Asahi Shimbun-Sha}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Harding|first=edited by John S.|title=Wild geese: Buddhism in Canada|year=2010|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|location=Montreal|isbn=978-0773536678|page=93|author2=Hori, Victor Sōgen |author3=Soucy, Alexander }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Petersen|first=edited by James R. Lewis, Jesper Aagaard|title=Controversial new religions|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0195156836|page=149|edition=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Métraux|first=Daniel A.|title=The Soka Gakkai revolution|year=1994|publisher=University Press of America|location=Lanham, Md.|isbn=978-0819197337|page=58}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Ken|title=The new social face of Buddhism: an alternative sociopolitical perspective|year=2003|publisher=Wisdom Publications|location=Boston, MA|isbn=978-0861713653|pages=197–198}}</ref>
			{{Nihongo|'''Daisaku Ikeda'''|池田 大作|Ikeda Daisaku|2 January 1928 – 15 November 2023}} was a Japanese ] leader, author, educator and ] advocate. He served as the third president and then honorary president of the ], which is considered among the largest of Japan's ]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Métraux |first=Daniel A. |year=2012 |title=Soka Gakkai International: Japanese Buddhism on a Global Scale |url=http://virginiareviewofasianstudies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/SGI-BOOK-ON-LINE-2.docx |format=DOC |publisher=Virginia Consortium of Asian Studies and the Virginia Review of Asian Studies |location=Staunton, Virginia}}</ref>{{rp|5}}
	A period around 2010 when Ikeda was not seen in public led to speculation about his health. In 2011, a newsweekly known for its adversarial relationship with Soka Gakkai reported that he was terminally ill.<ref>『週刊新潮』2011年2月10日号</ref> He was seen accepting an honorary degree and delivering a speech in March 2013.<ref name=speech2013>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=106Rxg9_nWc |title=創価学会 池田大作先生 フィリピンの大学の名誉博士号授与式 |website=www.youtube.com}}</ref>
			Ikeda was the founding president of the ]. Although a claimed Japanese membership of 8.27 million households, recent research and surveys suggest that between 2.5 million and 4 million people - approximately two to three percent of the Japanese population - are active members of Soka Gakkai,<ref>Levi McLaughlin, ''Soka Gakkai's Human Revolution: The Rise of a Mimetic Nation in Modern Japan'', University of Hawaii Press 2019: "Soka Gakkai has exceeded the capacity of other modern Japanese religious organizations to build institutions and attract adherents. Today, the group claims 8.27 million households in Japan and close to two million adherents in 192 countries under its overseas umbrella organization Soka Gakkai International, or SGI.1 These self-declared figures are exaggerated. Survey data point instead to a figure in the neighborhood of between 2 and 3 percent of the Japanese population, fewer than four million people, who most likely self-
	==Biography==
			identify as committed Gakkai adherents. But even the most conservative estimates allow us to surmise that virtually everyone in Japan is acquainted with a member, related to a member, or is a member of Soka Gakkai." (p.3)</ref> and the organization claims to have approximately 11 million practitioners in 192 countries and territories,<ref name="strand">{{cite news |title=Faith in Revolution |author=Clark Strand |date=Winter 2008 |work=Tricycle |url=https://tricycle.org/magazine/faith-revolution/|access-date=5 March 2020}}</ref> more than 1.5 million of whom reside outside of Japan as of 2012.<ref>{{Cite book|last=McLaughlin|first=Levi|editor-last1=Prohl|editor-first1=Inken|editor-last2=Nelson|editor-first2=John|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=of4yAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA269|title=Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Religions|date=2012|publisher=]|isbn=978-90-04-23436-9|language=en|pages=269–308|chapter=Soka Gakkai in Japan|quote=Today, the group has a self-declared membership of 8.27 million households in Japan and more than 1.5 million adherents in 192 countries abroad under its overseas umbrella organization Soka Gakkai International. Recent scholarship challenges theses figures and points to a figure in the neighborhood of two percent of the Japanese population.}}</ref>
			Ikeda was the founder of a variety of educational and cultural institutions including ], ], ] and ].<ref name="UNIVERSITY FOUNDER">{{cite web |title=University Founder|publisher=Soka University|url=https://www.soka.ac.jp/en/about/philosophy/founder#:~:text=Ikeda%20is%20also%20the%20founder,the%20Tokyo%20Fuji%20Art%20Museum.|access-date=May 14, 2024}}</ref> In Japan, he was also known for his international outreach to China.<ref>{{cite news |title=Daisaku Ikeda, Who Led Influential Japanese Buddhist Group, Dies at 95|author=Motoko Rich |date=29 November 2023 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/29/world/asia/daisaku-ikeda-dead.html|quote=On another front, Mr. Ikeda asked that the party push Japan to recognize the People’s Republic of China; the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1972. Two years later, Mr. Ikeda met with Zhou Enlai, then the premier of the People’s Republic, at a hospital in Beijing, where Mr. Zhou was being treated for cancer.}}</ref>
	===Early life===
	Ikeda was born the fifth son of ] in Ōta, Tokyo.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ikeda|first=Daisaku|title=My Mother|newspaper=The Mirror Weekly(The Philippines)|date=May 11, 1998}}</ref> His four older brothers fought in ], during which the eldest, Kiichi, was killed in action<ref>{{cite book|title= PeaceBuilders--Daisaku Ikeda & Josei Toda, Buddhist Leaders |isbn=978-0977111312 |author=M. LaVora Perry |publisher=Fortune Child Books|year=2010}}</ref> and his familyʼs home destroyed.<ref name="timeline"> of Ikeda's life, daisakuikeda.org. Accessed 6 November 2013.</ref>
			Ikeda has been described as controversial over the decades due to the ambivalent reputation of the Soka Gakkai<ref>{{Cite news |last=French |first=Howard W. |date=November 14, 1999 |title=A Sect's Political Rise Creates Uneasiness in Japan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/14/world/a-sect-s-political-rise-creates-uneasiness-in-japan.html |work=New York Times |access-date=8 January 2025}}</ref> and his relation to the political party ], which he founded. He has been the subject of numerous articles, questions and accusations in Japanese and international media.<ref name="Métraux-1994">{{Cite book |last=Métraux |first=Daniel A |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4WHYAAAAMAAJ |title=The Soka Gakkai Revolution |date=1994 |publisher=] |isbn=9780819197337 |quote=Ikeda, possibly one of the more controversial figures in Japan's modern history, is the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of contemporary Japanese society—how one sees him depends on one's vantage point.}}</ref>{{rp|147}}At his death, scholars and journalists described Ikeda as among the most polarizing and important figures in modern Japanese religion and politics.<ref name="The Death of Ikeda Daisaku">{{cite web |title=The Death of Ikeda Daisaku |date=22 November 2023 |publisher=Substack|url=https://observingjapan.substack.com/p/the-death-of-ikeda-daisaku|access-date=May 14, 2024}}</ref>
	===Involvement with the Soka Gakkai===
	In August 1947, Ikeda met ] at a ] discussion meeting and joined the organization that month. In April 1948, Ikeda entered the night school of Taisei Gakuin<ref name="timeline" /> (later ]). He left it in the same year{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}} and spent the next few years shifting his employment between various Toda-owned enterprises.<ref name="timeline" /> Ikeda was a charter member of the Soka Gakkai's Youth Division and its leader by 1953.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kisala|first=Robert|title=Prophets of peace: Pacifism and cultural identity in Japan's new religions.|year=2000|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press|location=Honolulu, HI, USA|isbn=978-0824822675}}</ref>{{rp|85}}<ref name=seager/>{{rp|77}}
			==Early life and background==
	In 1952, Ikeda was one of the leaders in harassing ] priest Jimon Ogasawara. Ogasawara had allegedly cooperated with the authorities during the war against Soka Gakkai's founder ], who had died imprisoned, before the end of the war. Ikeda and Toda headed a group of 4,000 men belonging to the Youth Division to the ], the Nichiren Shōshū head temple. When Ogasawara initially refused to apologize, the men tore off his vestments and tagged him with a placard reading "racoon monk."<ref>In Japanese folklore, the ''tanuki'' or ] is regarded as a sly and deceptive being with shapeshifting powers. The word is still used in contemporary Japanese to refer to slyness and deception. See the definition of ''tanuki'' in ] (2nd ed.): 他人を欺くこと。また、そのひと。</ref><ref>Montgomery, Daniel B. (1991). Fire in the lotus: the dynamic Buddhism of Nichiren. London: Mandala. ISBN 978-1852740917, Page 187</ref> He was then forcibly carried to Makiguchi's grave, where he was made to sign a written apology.<ref name=murata>{{cite book|last=Murata|first=Kiyoaki|title=Japan's new Buddhism: an objective account of Soka Gakkai|year=1969|publisher=Weatherhill|location=New York|isbn=978-0834800403|pages=96–97|edition=.}}</ref><ref name=shimada>{{cite book|last=Shimada|first=Hiromi|title=Sōkagakkai|year=2008|publisher=Shinchōsha|location=Tokyo|isbn=978-4106100727|language=Japanese|format=Kindle}}</ref>{{rp|698–711}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Montgomery|first=Daniel B.|title=Fire in the lotus: the dynamic Buddhism of Nichiren|year=1991|publisher=Mandala|location=London|isbn=978-1852740917}}</ref>{{rp|186}} Ikeda, who admitted to hitting the priest "once or twice" later referred to the incident as an "act of kindness" because "the old priest, made to realize his apostasy, was grateful to Toda and Soka Gakkai and died a happy man."<ref name=murata />
			Ikeda Daisaku was born in ], Tokyo, Japan, on 2 January 1928. Ikeda had four older brothers, two younger brothers, and a younger sister. His parents later adopted two more children, for a total of 10 children. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Ikeda family had successfully farmed '']'', edible seaweed, in Tokyo Bay. By the turn of the twentieth century, the Ikeda family business was the largest producer of ''nori'' in Tokyo. The devastation of the ] left the family's enterprise in ruins. Ikeda's eldest brother, Kiichi, died in the Imphal Campaign in ], in January 1945, during the last stages of World War II.<ref name="Memories of My Eldest Brother">{{cite web|title=Memories of My Eldest Brother|publisher=daisakuikeda.org|url=https://www.daisakuikeda.org/main/peacebuild/essays-on-peace/memories-of-my-eldest-brother.html|access-date=December 17, 2024}}</ref> Ikeda also suffered from ] in his younger days.<ref>{{cite news |title=Daisaku Ikeda, Who Led Influential Japanese Buddhist Group, Dies at 95|author=Motoko Rich |date=29 November 2023 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/29/world/asia/daisaku-ikeda-dead.html|quote=Daisaku Ikeda was born on Jan. 2, 1928, in Tokyo, the fifth son of Nenokichi and Ichi (Komiya) Ikeda, who were involved in seaweed farming. As a child, he was diagnosed with chronic tuberculosis.}}</ref>
			In August 1947, at the age of 19, Ikeda was invited by an old friend to attend a Buddhist discussion meeting. It was there that he met ], the second president of Japan's ] Buddhist organization. Ikeda began practicing Nichiren Buddhism and joined the Soka Gakkai. He regarded Toda as his spiritual mentor and became a charter member of the group's youth division.
	Soka Gakkai lore places the highest value on Ikeda's leadership of the propagation campaign in Kansai Chapter, western Japan, in 1955-1956. This area of Japan had very small numbers of Soka Gakkai members when compared to Tokyo. Yet in April 1956 and May 1956 it broke all precedent in membership growth with results of 9,000 and 11,111 new families respectively. Ikeda devoted an entire chapter, "Determination," of his roman à clef ] to accounting the massively successful two-year campaign which resulted in the electoral victory of a Kansai Soka Gakkai member to the Japanese Diet.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ikeda|first1=Daisaku|title=The Human Revolution|date=2004|publisher=World Tribune Press|location=Santa Monica, CA|isbn=0915678772|pages=1305, 1494}}</ref> Ikeda details here his efforts to personally develop his life and faith ("human revolution"), involve members in the practical study of ]'s writings and the teachings and guidances of Josei Toda, finding and developing capable grassroots leaders, building ties of friendship and trust, tight communication, participation in small local discussion meetings, and instruction on how to overcome setbacks in life. These efforts led to an explosion of members' happiness and very natural propagation efforts.
			==Career==
	In July 3, 1957, Ikeda was arrested in Osaka in his capacity as the Youth Division Chief of Staff, for overseeing activities that constituted violations of Japanese election law. He spent two weeks in jail and appeared in court forty-eight times before he was cleared of all charges in January 1962.<ref>http://www.has.vcu.edu/wrs/profiles/SokaGakkai.htm</ref>
			]
			Shortly after the end of World War II, in January 1946, Ikeda gained employment with the Shobundo Printing Company in Tokyo. In March 1948, Ikeda graduated from Toyo Trade School and the following month entered the night school extension of Taisei Gakuin (present-day ]) where he majored in ].<ref name="timeline2"> of Ikeda's life, daisakuikeda.org. Accessed 6 November 2013</ref> During this time, he worked as an editor of the children's magazine ''Shonen Nihon'' (Boy's Life Japan), which was published by one of Josei Toda's companies.<ref name="Seager 2006">{{Cite book|last=Seager|first=Richard Hughes|url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL3395144M/Encountering_the_Dharma|title=Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism|date=2006|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, California|isbn=0520245776|ol=3395144M}}</ref>{{rp|f. 84}}<ref name="timeline2"/>
			In 1953, at the age of 25, Ikeda was appointed as one of the Soka Gakkai's youth leaders. The following year, he was appointed as director of the Soka Gakkai's public relations bureau, and later became its chief of staff.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kisala|first=Robert|title=Prophets of peace: Pacifism and cultural identity in Japan's new religions.|year=2000|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press|location=Honolulu, HI, USA|isbn=978-0-8248-2267-5}}</ref>{{rp|85}}<ref name="Seager 2006"/>{{rp|77}}
	Ikeda regarded Toda as his spiritual mentor and writes that he influenced him through "the profound compassion that characterized each of his interactions".<ref name="Thoughts on Education for Global Citizenship (Teachers College, 1996)">Ikeda, Daisaku. "" (daisakuikeda.org). Teachers College, Columbia University, June 13, 1996</ref>
	===Presidency after Toda===		===Soka Gakkai presidency===
			{{POV|date=March 2024|talk={{{talk|#}}}|what=section|{{{1|}}}|name=POV-section|subst=<includeonly>{{subst:substcheck}}</includeonly>}}
	After Toda's death in 1958, Ikeda succeeded his mentor to become the third President of ] in 1960, after which he began to travel abroad to realize Toda's vision of expanding the Soka Gakkai movement.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}
			In May 1960, two years after Toda's death, Ikeda, then 32 years old, succeeded him as president of the Soka Gakkai. Later that year, Ikeda began to travel overseas to build connections between Soka Gakkai members living abroad and expand the movement globally.<ref name="pereira">{{cite journal |title=The transplantation of Soka Gakkai to Brazil: building "the closest organization to the heart of Ikeda-Sensei" |author=Ronan Alves Pereira |journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies |year=2008}}</ref>
			As a president, Ikeda continued fusing the ideas and principles of educational pragmatism with the elements of Buddhist doctrine.<ref name=bethel>{{cite journal |title=The Political Ideology of Ikeda Daisaku, President of Soka Gakkai |author=Dayle Bethel |journal=International Education |volume=3 |issue=2 |year=1974}}</ref> He reformed many of the organization's practices{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}, including the aggressive conversion style known as ], for which the group had been criticized in Japan and in other countries.<ref name="Metraux-2016">{{Cite book |last1=Cherry |first1=Stephen M. |title=Global Religious Movements Across Borders: Sacred Service |last2=Ebaugh |first2=Helen Rose |date=22 April 2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-12733-8 |pages=83–84 |language=en |chapter=Soka Gakkai International: Nichiren Japanese Buddhism (Daniel A. Metraux) |quote=The huge growth and power of the Soka Gakkai has drawn harsh criticism over the years, especially in Japan because of its aggressive proselytization in its early years, its decision to play an active role in politics, and what critics call a personality cult around leader Ikeda Daisaku. Soka Gakkai's practice of ''shakubuku'' contributed to their rapid growth but alienated many in Japanese society who decried such confrontational methods. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oe0GDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA84}}</ref> The organization "had provoked public opprobrium because of its aggressive recruitment policies and its strongly developed political base."<ref>{{cite book|last=Reader|first=Ian|editor-last1=Lucas|editor-first1=Phillip Charles|editor-last2=Robbins|editor-first2=Thomas|title=New Religious Movements in the 21st Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective|publisher=Routledge|date=2004|pages=191–202|chapter=Chapter 12: Consensus Shattered: Japanese Paradigm Shift and Moral Panic in the Post-Aum Era|isbn=978-1-135-88902-9|quote=The movement was persecuted for its opposition to the wartime government's militarism but it is now the largest religious organization in Japan. Soka Gakkai, more than almost any other movement prior to Aum, had provoked public opprobrium because of its aggressive recruitment policies and its strongly developed political base. These developments had caused concern that Soka Gakkai might threaten the post-war constitutional separation of religion and state.}}</ref>{{rp|197}}
	While Soka Gakkai saw its most dramatic growth after the ] under the leadership of Toda, Ikeda led the international growth of the organization and turned it into what has been called the largest, most diverse international lay Buddhist association in the world.<ref name="tricycle">Tricycle Magazine Interview: http://www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/interview/interview2/2008tricycle.html</ref> He reformed many of the organizations more controversial practices, such as the aggressive and sometimes forced conversions (] (折伏)) the group was infamous for in Japan and did much to improve the organization's public image, though it was still widely viewed with suspicion in Japan.<ref>{{cite book|last=Choy|first=Lee Khoon|title=Japan, between myth and reality|year=1995|publisher=World Scientific|location=Singapore |isbn=981-02-1865-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=James R.|title=Legitimating new religions|year=2003|publisher=Rutgers University Press|location=New Brunswick, N.J.|isbn=978-0813533247|edition=.}} "Soka Gakkai ... was not infrequently stereotyped as a brainwashing cult, particularly by anti-cult authors."</ref><ref name=denounce>{{cite book|last=Fujiwara|first=Hirotatsu|title=I Denounce Soka Gakkai|year=1970|publisher=Nisshin Hodo|location=Tokyo|isbn=9110135502}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=cho|first=Furukawa Toshiaki|title=Karuto to shite no Sōka Gakkai = Ikeda Daisaku|year=2000|publisher=Daisan Shokan|location=Tokyo|isbn=978-4807400171|edition=Shohan.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yanatori|first=Mitsuyoshi|title=Sōka Gakkai|year=1977|publisher=Kokusho Kankōkai|location=Tokyo|language=Japanese}}</ref>
			In 1979, Ikeda resigned as president of the Soka Gakkai (in Japan), in compliance with the demands of the ] priesthood .<ref name="Métraux-1980">{{cite journal|last=Métraux|first=Daniel|date=March 1980|title=Why Did Ikeda Quit?|url=https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2204|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=7|issue=1|pages=55–61|doi=10.18874/jjrs.7.1.1980.55-61|access-date=4 June 2020|quote=Ikeda quit because the Nichiren Shoshu saw him as an obvious threat to its existence. Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai had grown so big and powerful that it threatened to devour its parent. The Nichiren Shoshu priesthood felt that it was on the verge of being overwhelmed. It had to reassert its authority to make its presence felt, and Ikeda's resignation is the clear end-result of this drive.|doi-access=free}}</ref>{{rp|56}} Hiroshi Hōjō succeeded Ikeda as Soka Gakkai president, and Ikeda was made honorary president.<ref name="Métraux-1980"/>{{rp|55}}
	By the 1970s Ikeda's leadership had expanded the Soka Gakkai into an international lay Buddhist movement increasingly active in peace, cultural and educational activities and shifting away from "a very rigid fundamentalistic and evangelical stance."<ref>{{cite book|last=Queen| first=Christopher S. and Sallie B. King, eds.|title=Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia|year=1996|publisher=State University of New York Press|location=Albany|isbn=0791428443|page=365}}</ref>
	For example, in September, 1974, Ikeda visited the former Soviet Union, and met with the premier, Aleksey N. Kosygin, on September 17 of that year. "We must abandon the very idea of war," said Kosygin. "It is meaningless. If we stop preparing for war and prepare instead for peace, we can produce food instead of armaments." He asked Ikeda, "Mr. Ikeda, what is your basic ideology?" Ikeda replied,
	"I believe in peace, culture and education -- the underlying basis of which is humanism." "I have a high regard for those values," Kosygin said. "We need to realize them here in the Soviet Union as well.",<ref>http://www.daisakuikeda.org/main/peacebuild/friends/aleksey-n-kosygin.html Aleksey N. Kosygin--Advocate of Peace in the Midst of the Cold War</ref><ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=umep6P6dYLAC&dq=Lebron+common&source=gbs_navlinks_s Searching for Spiritual Unity...Can There Be Common Ground? By Robyn E. Lebron</ref>{{rp|415}}<ref>http://www.sgiquarterly.org/borders2009Apr-1.html Russia--Cultivating the Common Ground of Peace</ref>
			Ikeda continued to be revered as the Soka Gakkai's spiritual leader, according to Asian studies associate professor Daniel Métraux.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Metraux|first=Daniel A.|date=1 November 1999|title=Japan's Search for Political Stability: The LDP-New Komeito Alliance|url=https://online.ucpress.edu/as/article/39/6/926/23631/Japan-s-Search-for-Political-Stability-The-LDP-New|journal=Asian Survey|language=en|volume=39|issue=6|pages=926–939|doi=10.2307/3021146|jstor=3021146|issn=0004-4687|quote=Although Ikeda formally resigned his position as president of the Soka Gakkai in 1979, he is still revered as the movement's spiritual leader and spokesman}}</ref> Métraux in 1994 wrote that "adulation of Ikeda in the Gakkai press gives some non-member readers the impression that the Gakkai is little more than an Ikeda ]".<ref name="Métraux 1994">{{cite book|last=Métraux|first=Daniel A|date=1994|title=The Soka Gakkai Revolution|location=Lanham, MD|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=9780819197337|quote=Every Soka Gakkai publication features of Ikeda and stories about his speeches, trips, and meetings. .... This adulation of Ikeda in the Gakkai press gives some non-member readers the impression that the Gakkai is little more than an Ikeda personality cult.}}</ref>{{rp|151}} One reason for the ] of Soka Gakkai by Nichiren Shōshū in 1991 was, according to the "Nichiren Shoshu" entry in ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', "Nichiren Shōshū accusing Sōka Gakkai of forming a personality cult around their leader Ikeda" and "Soka Gakkai accusing the Nichiren Shoshu leader Abe Nikken of trying to dominate both organizations."<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Buswell|first1=Robert E. Jr.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EGmYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA582|page=582|title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism|last2=Lopez|first2=Donald S. Jr.|date=24 November 2013|publisher=]|isbn=978-0-691-15786-3|language=en}}</ref> Sociologist of religion Peter Beyer in 2006 summarizes an understanding in the context of contemporary global society: "Until the 1990s, Soka Gakkai still was related formally to the monastic organization, Nichiren Shoshu, but conflicts over authority led to their separation (Métraux 1994)."<ref name="Beyer 2006">{{cite book|last=Beyer|first=Peter|date=2006|title=Religions in Global Society|url= https://openlibrary.org/books/OL22728649M |publisher=Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group|isbn=0-415-39318-3|ol=22728649M|url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|277}}
	In 1975, at an international meeting of member representatives held in ], Soka Gakkai formed Soka Gakkai International (SGI) to support its overseas membership. Ikeda took a leading role in this development and, at the request of the membership, became President of SGI.<ref name=seager>Seager, Richard Hughes. ''Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism.'' Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 2006.</ref>{{rp|128}}
	===Resignation from Soka Gakkai presidency===		===Soka Gakkai International founding===
			{{further|Soka Gakkai International}}
	In 1979, Ikeda resigned as the president of Soka Gakkai, accepting responsibility for its purported deviation from ] doctrines, and the accompanying conflict with the priesthood.<ref>Shimada, Hiromi: ''Kōmeitō vs. Sōka Gakkai'' ("Conflicts between Komeito and Soka Gakkai"). Asahi Shinsho, Tokyo: May 2007. ISBN 978-4-02-273153-1. p. 114. {{ja icon}}</ref> Nichiren Shōshū was the Buddhist denomination to which Soka Gakkai had belonged since its founding, but the relationship between the two was often a strained one. Ikeda was succeeded by Hiroshi Hojo, but remained president of the SGI and was also made Soka Gakkai Honorary President.<ref>Shimada, Hiromi: ''Kōmeitō vs. Sōka Gakkai'', p. 116. {{ja icon}}</ref> He, along with Soka Gakkai, was ] by Nichiren Shōshū on August 11, 1992.<ref>Mizoguchi, Atsushi: ''Ikeda Daisaku: Kenryokusha no Kōzō'' ("Daisaku Ikeda: The structure behind a man with power"). Tokyo: Kōdansha, 2005. ISBN 4-06-256962-0. p. 396 {{ja icon}}</ref><ref>Taisekiji: ''Nichiren Shōshū Nyūmon'' ("An introduction to Nichiren Shōshū"). Fujinomiya, 2002. p. 332 (chronology) and p. 240 {{ja icon}}</ref> SGI members often describe their group as Buddhism's first ] movement, since its excommunication by Nichiren Shōshū in 1991.<ref name="french_uneasiness">Howard W. French, "", 14 November 1999. Accessed 19 November 2011.</ref>
			By the 1970s, Ikeda's leadership had expanded the Soka Gakkai into an international lay Buddhist movement increasingly active in peace, cultural, and educational activities.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Queen, Christopher S. |editor2=Sallie B. King |title=Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia|year=1996|publisher=State University of New York Press|location=Albany|isbn=0-7914-2844-3}}</ref>{{rp|371–72, 376}} On 26 January 1975, Soka Gakkai representatives from 51 countries created the ]. Ikeda took a leading role in the global organization's development and became the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International.
	Under Ikeda's leadership ] has developed as a broad-based grassroots peace movement around the world. He has fostered among SGI members a strong ethos of responsibility for the society with global citizenship spirit.<ref>Jacqueline I. Stone, "Nichiren's activist heirs: Sōka Gakkai, Risshō Kōsekai, Nipponzan Myōhōji", in Christopher Queen, et al., eds, ''Action Dharma: New Studies in Engaged Buddhism'' (London: Routledge Curzon, 2003). Scan (PDF) available here .</ref>
			==Critics and controversies==
	==Accomplishments==
	Ikeda has founded several institutions, including ] in Japan and Soka University of America; Soka primary to secondary schools in Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Brazil and Singapore; the Victor Hugo House of Literature, in France; the International Committee of Artists for Peace in the US; the Min-On Concert Association in Japan; the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum in Japan; the Institute of Oriental Philosophy in Japan with offices in France, Hong Hong, India, Russia and the United Kingdom; and the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research in Japan and the United States.<ref>Goulah, Jason. 2010. “Daisaku Ikeda’s Environmental Ethics of Humanitarian Competition: A Review of His United Nations Peace and Education Proposals.” (April 2010). Central New York Peace Studies Consortium. p3. ISSN: 21510806</ref>
			===Reputation===
	In 1994 the Soka Gakkai collaborated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center in West Los Angeles, a Jewish human rights organization to combat anti-Semitism in Japan. After reaching out to the Japanese media, Rabbi Abraham Cooper says they were getting nowhere. “The truth is, the only partners we found to help us bring our concerns to the Japanese public were the people from Soka University under the leadership of Daisaku Ikeda.” They developed a Japanese version of the traveling Holocaust exhibit, ‘The Courage to Remember’ that has been seen by over two million people.<ref>{{Seager, Richard Hughes, Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the globalization of Buddhist humanism, Berkeley : Univ. of California Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-520-24577-8, p. 180}}</ref>
			Ikeda has elicited a variety of assessments from scholars and journalists. According to Asian studies professor Daniel Métraux in 1994, Ikeda is "possibly one of the more controversial figures in Japan's modern history".<ref name="Métraux-1994" />
			In 1996, the '']'' described Ikeda as "the most powerful man in Japan - and certainly one of the most enigmatic", "condemned and praised as a devil and an angel, a despot and a democrat".<ref name="LAT-1996">{{cite news |title=Japan's Crusader or Corrupter? |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=15 March 1996 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-15-mn-47383-story.html|quote=He is, by some accounts, the most powerful man in Japan - and certainly one of the most enigmatic: Daisaku Ikeda, leader of the nation's largest religious organization, has been condemned and praised as a devil and an angel, a ] and a ], a despot and a democrat}}</ref>
	Ikeda has guided Soka Gakkai's support of, and involvement in, the ] (Komeito),{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} a Japanese political party which, as of 2007, is part of a governing coalition with the ] in Japan. He has supported the ] Initiative<ref>Rockefeller, Steven C. Interview. Accessed August 29, 2014.</ref> and a documentary film about the environment, ''A Quiet Revolution''.
			In 1984, Polly Toynbee, grand-daughter of British historian ], whose conversations with Ikeda were published, was invited by Ikeda to meet him in Japan. Following her visit, she wrote a critical article for '']'' on meeting the leader. She writes:
	The “Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace” exhibition showcases the peace activism of ], ], and Ikeda. Lawrence Carter, an ordained Baptist minister <ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rautenstraus|first1=Kent|title=Dean Lawrence Carter Communes with Mystics: from Gandhi to King to Ikeda to Holmes|journal=Science of Mind|issue=June 2013|page=20|url=http://www.kentrautenstraus.com/articles/Meet_Dean_Lawrence_Carter.pdf|accessdate=30 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel: Dean of the Chapel|url=http://www.morehouse.edu/mlkchapel/about-us/dean-of-the-chapel/|website=Morehouse College|accessdate=30 July 2014}}</ref><ref>https://www.google.co.th/search?q=Lawrence+Carter%2C+an+ordained+Baptist+minister&oq=Lawrence+Carter%2C+an+ordained+Baptist+minister&aqs=chrome..69i57.285j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8</ref> and the dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel at ] in Atlanta, initiated the annual Gandhi, King, Ikeda Community Builders prize as a way of extolling those whose actions for peace have cut across human boundaries. When a ''Shūkan Shinchō'' article criticized these aspects of the award, Carter wrote a protest to the magazine:
	{{Quote|"Controversy" is an inevitable partner of greatness. No one who challenges the established order is free of it. Gandhi had his detractors, as did Dr. King. Dr. Ikeda is no exception. Controversy camouflages the intense resistance of entrenched authority to conceding their special status and privilege. "Insults" are the weapons of the morally weak; "slander" is the tool of the spiritually bereft. Controversy is testament to the noble work of these three individuals in their respective societies.<ref name="gamble">Adam Gamble and Takesato Watanabe, ''A Public Betrayed: An Inside Look at Japanese Media Atrocities and Their Warnings to the West'' (], 2004)</ref>}}
			"On the long flight to Japan, I read for the first time my grandfather's posthumously, published book, "Choose Life -- A Dialogue".. . . My grandfather was 85 when the dialogue was recorded, a short time before his final incapacitating stroke (...) My grandfather never met Ikeda on his visits to Japan. His old Japanese friends were clearly less than delighted with lkeda's grandiose appropriation of his memories. Several days passed before we were to meet our mysterious host, time in which we learned more about Mr Ikeda and his Soka Gakkai movement. One thing above allo others was made clear: this was an organisation of immense wealth, power and political influence (...) Asked to hazard a guess at his occupation, few would have selected him as a religious figure. I have met many powerful men—prime ministers, leaders of all kinds—but I have never in my life met anyone who exuded such an aura of absolute power as Mr Ikeda".
	The houses of representatives in Georgia,
	<ref></ref> Missouri,<ref name="house.mo.gov"></ref> and Illinois <ref></ref><ref></ref><ref name="Congress"></ref> recognize the service and dedication of Daisaku Ikeda "who has dedicated his entire life to building peace and promoting human rights through education and cultural exchange with deep conviction in the shared humanity of our entire global family" <ref name="Congress" /> in which he "values education and culture as the prerequisites for the creation of true peace in which the dignity and fundamental rights of all people are respected." <ref name="house.mo.gov" />
			===Religion and politics===
	He is an honorary member of the ].<ref>, Club of Rome.</ref>
			In the history of institutional relations between the religious movement Soka Gakkai and the political party ] founded in 1964 by Ikeda as an outgrowth from Soka Gakkai,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gebert |first=Andrew |date=2011-09-30 |title=Soka Gakkai |website=Oxford Bibliographies |url=https://oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393521/obo-9780195393521-0053.xml |language=en |doi=10.1093/obo/9780195393521-0053|quote=The third president, Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928), took over leadership in 1960; the founder of an affiliated political party, the Komei Party, and numerous educational and cultural bodies, he has further overseen the Soka Gakkai's international expansion.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Urbain |first=Olivier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YG_tDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA26 |page=26|title=Daisaku Ikeda and Dialogue for Peace |date=2013-08-09 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-85772-455-7 |language=en|quote=Also, when Ikeda founded the Komeito Party in 1964, he suggested including in the Party's program the political issue of normalizing relations with China.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Klein |first1=Axel |last2=McLaughlin |first2=Levi |date=January 2022 |editor-last1=Pekkanen |editor-first1=Robert J. |editor-last2=Pekkanen |editor-first2=Saadia M. |title=The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics |publisher=Oxford University Press |chapter=Kōmeitō: The Party and Its Place in Japanese Politics |isbn=9780190050993 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190050993.013.5 |quote=The chapter then delves into the party's history, detailing its origins in 1964 as an outgrowth from Sōka Gakkai, an influential Japanese lay Buddhist organization.}}</ref> he has faced "unabated criticism against the alleged violation of the ]"<ref>{{cite book|last=Dehn |first=Ulrich|editor1-last=Staemmler|editor1-first=Birgit|editor2-last=Dehn|editor2-first=Ulrich|title=Establishing the Revolutionary: An Introduction to New Religions in Japan|publisher=Lit Verlag|date=2011|pages=201–220 |chapter=Chapter 5: Soka Gakkai|isbn=978-3-643-90152-1|quote=(p203:) ...Japan at that time under authoritarian military rule was in close cooperation with Shinto shrines and Shinto imperial ideology. ...n 1942 all households were ordered to display Shinto-''ofuda'' (amulets) to keep away evil from their houses. Soka Gakkai refused to show the ''ofuda'' at the headquarters' entrance which caused the observation of Soka Gakkai's inner circle and led to the imprisonment of 22 leaders on 6 July 1943, on the charge of an offence against state security and blasphemy. Makiguchi had called the emperor a human being. The organization was disbanded by the government. In November 1944, Makiguchi died of undernourishment; following his death, most of the imprisoned Soka Gakkai leaders, except for Toda Josei and Yajima, withdrew their Soka Gakkai membership and were released.(p215:) In 1964, Soka Gakkai launched its political party Komeito after already in 1955 independent deputies had been elected through Soka Gakkai support into both houses of parliament. (p216:)There has been unabated criticism against the alleged violation of the separation of religion and state and the alleged ambitions of Soka Gakkai International president (and former Soka Gakkai president) Ikeda to gain supreme political power in the country.}}</ref>{{rp|203,215,216}} and been accused of "far-reaching political ambitions."<ref name="Lewis-2005">{{Cite book |last=Kisala |first=Robert |title=Controversial New Religions |title-link=Controversial New Religions |publisher=] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-515682-9 |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=James R. |editor-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |edition=1st |location=New York |language=en |chapter=Soka Gakkai: Searching for the Mainstream |editor-last2=Petersen |editor-first2=Jesper Aagaard |pages=139–152|quote=(p149:)Despite this lack of formal higher education, Ikeda has been prominent in international peace forums, addressing the United Nations General Assembly and keeping a high profile in his frequent exchanges with prominent statesmen and academics. In his numerous proposals on peace and disarmament, Ikeda makes continued reference to the ideal of universal disarmament and resolution of conflict through negotiation. Ikeda has been a controversial figure in Japan . His critics accuse him of far-reaching political ambitions, and the tabloid press has played up unsubstantiated reports of sexual and financial scandals. Prefiguring the split with Nichiren Shoshu in 1991, Ikeda resigned as president of Soka Gakkai in 1979, in an attempt to repair the already strained relationship with the Shoshu monks over his power and the personality cult built around him. His continuing paramount role within the group, as well as the cult surrounding his figure, is evident, however, in the treatment afforded him by the ''Seikyo Shimbun'', Soka Gakkai's daily newspaper, where the front page is commonly devoted to reports on his activities.}}</ref>{{rp|149}} Associate professor of government George Ehrhardt and co-authors write that "Sōka Gakkai's entrance into the political arena permanently transformed the relationship between religion and politics in Japan by dividing those who opposed the creation of a religious political party from those who accepted it."<ref name="Ehrhardt et al 2015, ch 1">{{cite book |last1=Ehrhardt|first1=George|last2=Klein|first2=Axel|last3=McLaughlin |first3=Levi|last4=Reed|first4=Steven R.|editor-last1=Ehrhardt|editor-first1=George|editor-last2=Klein|editor-first2=Axel|editor-last3=McLaughlin |editor-first3=Levi|editor-last4=Reed|editor-first4=Steven R.|title=Komeito: Politics and Religion in Japan|publisher=Institute of East AsianStudies |year=2015|pages=3–24|chapter=Chapter 1: Kōmeitō: The Most Understudied Party of Japanese Politics|isbn=978-1-55729-111-0}}</ref>{{rp|16}}
			In 2015, addressing the "party's understudied history," political scientist ] and his co-authors write that "the image of Kōmeitō as a mere political branch of Sōka Gakkai is clearly mistaken" and that "the separation between party and religious group announced by Ikeda Daisaku in 1970 made a real difference." He also states that "sōka gakkai meetings are used to introduce Kōmeitō candidates and to advertise the party, particularly during the period leading up the election."
	===International initiatives===
			<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ehrhardt |first1=George|last2=Klein|first2=Axel|last3=Mclaughlin|first3=Levi|last4=Reed|first4=Steven R|editor-last1=Ehrhardt|editor-first=George|editor-last2=Klein|editor-first2=Axel|editor-last3=McLaughlin|editor-first3=Levi|editor-last4=Reed|editor-first4=Steven R |title=Kōmeitō: Politics and Religion in Japan|publisher=Institute of East Asian Studies|date=May 2015|pages=269–276|chapter=Chapter 11: Kōmeitō: Politics and Religion in Japan|isbn=978-1-55729-162-2|quote=Like other parties originating from a religious organization, Kōmeitō grew increasingly independent and turned into a self-contained, self-interested party with a distinct agenda that is not always compatible with that of Sōka Gakkai. While many aspects of the relationship between the organizations are still unclear, the image of Kōmeitō as a mere political branch of Sōka Gakkai is clearly mistaken. Concerns regarding Kōmeitō's link to religion remain, yet our findings indicate clearly that the separation between party and religious group announced by Ikeda Daisaku in 1970 made a real difference. Kōmeitō has matured into an organization that, in terms of policy and institutional behavior, has shifted both its strategies and policies in a politically rational manner. In the 1970s, Kōmeitō cooperated with opposition parties. When these attempts failed, the party responded positively to LDP approaches, leading eventually to the coalition government in 1999. Finally, as we detailed in chapter 10, none of the dire predictions about what would happen if Kōmeitō ever gained power have come to pass. First, Kōmeitō in power has not proven a threat to democracy. ... Second, Kōmeitō in power has not threatened other religious groups or tried to get special privileges for Sōka Gakkai relative to other religious groups. Indeed, Kōmeitō has acted to protect the interests of religious groups in general. ... A major motivation for producing this volume was our conviction that Kōmeitō is one of the most understudied aspects of Japanese politics.}}</ref>{{rp|271–272}}
			About "the changing role of the Komeito in Japanese politics in the 1990s", Daniel Métraux states that: "While it is difficult to determine his exact role, an examination of his daily itinerary would reveal that he would have very little time personally for political management and that most of the aging leader's time is devoted to religious affairs, traveling, and writing. Ikeda may well have influenced the Komeito in a macrosense, but in a microsense he is clearly not involved. The Komeito and its successes have a life of their own; they are certainly not lifeless puppets ready to react to Ikeda's or to the Soka Gakkai's every whim."<ref name="JSR-1999">{{cite journal|last=Métraux|first=Daniel|title=The Changing Role of the Komeito in Japanese Politics in the 1990s|journal=Japan Studies Review |volume=3|publisher=University of North Florida |date= 1999 | pages=41–60|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iygOAQAAMAAJ|quote=(p43:) The actual role of Soka Gakkai's spiritual leader Ikeda Daisaku has been a matter of some controversy in Japanese politics for several decades. As the self-proclaimed founder and avid supporter of the Komeito, he potentially wields considerable influence in the political world. Some journalists and conservative politicians as former Komeito president Takeiri Yoshikatsu have claimed that Ikeda plays an active role in Komeito affairs.... (p44:) While it is difficult to determine his exact role, an examination of his daily itinerary would reveal that he would have very little time personally for political management and that most of the aging leader's time is devoted to religious affairs, traveling, and writing. Ikeda may well have influenced the Komeito in a macrosense, but in a microsense he is clearly not involved. The Komeito and its successes have a life of their own; they are certainly not lifeless puppets ready to react to Ikeda's or to the Soka Gakkai's every whim.}}</ref>{{rp|44}}
	Ikeda’s meetings with public figures have raised awareness of the SGI’s Buddhist movement in host countries, facilitated relationships with cultural and educational institutions he has founded, and lent support, for example, to SGI-sponsored traveling exhibits on global issues.<ref>Seager, Richard Hughes. 2006. Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press. p120. ISBN 0520245776</ref> For their contributions to diplomatic as well as intercultural ties between Japan and other countries,<ref>Métraux, Daniel A. 1994. The Soka Gakkai Revolution. Lanham/New York/London: University Press of America. p126. ISBN 0819197335</ref> these meetings and relationships have been described by some as ].<ref>Indangasi, Henry. Preface. In Indangasi, Henry and Odari, Masumi, eds. 2001. Daisaku Ikeda and Africa: Reflections by Kenyan Writers. Nairobi, Kenya: University of Nairobi Press. pxiii. ISBN 9966-846-49-2.</ref><ref>Seager 2006, p119.</ref>
			A lot of newspapers and scholars have proven though that, despite the formal separation, there are still "strong links"<ref name="McClurg-2019">{{Cite book |author=Darren F. McClurg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vt-vDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA363 |title=Religion and Contemporary Politics: A Global Encyclopedia |date=19 September 2019 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-4408-3933-7 |editor1=Timothy J. Demy |page=363 |language=en |quote=As a result of the fallout from this attack on free speech, Soka Gakkai and Komeito were forced to separate, and both renounced their goal of converting the population to Nichiren Buddhism. Although weakened, strong links between the two remained, and Gakkai voters continue to supporter Komeito politicians. Ikeda stepped down from leadership of the organisation in 1979 but remains its honorary president and its spiritual leader to this day. ''The Economist'' called him "the most powerful man in Japanese politics" as late as 1999. |editor2=Jeffrey M. Shaw}}</ref>{{rp|363}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Porcu |first=Elisabetta |title=Religion and Politics: European and Global Perspectives |date=23 April 2014 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7486-9174-6 |editor-last=Arnason |editor-first=Johann P. |pages=168–183 |language=en |chapter=Religion and the State in Contemporary Japan |quote=The strong link between Soka Gakkai and Komeito (since 1998, Shin Komeito or New Komeito) however still remains and the support for candidates by the religious group continues. Such a situation is made possible because Article 20 does not deny the possibility of a religious organisation forming a political party, which is seen as an expression of religious freedom by those religious groups involved in politics |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVirBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA170}}</ref>{{rp|170}} and that the Komeito has remained to some extent the "political arm" of Soka Gakkai.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Obuchi, Keizo |date=1 July 1999 |title=Support, at a price |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/1999/07/01/support-at-a-price |access-date=6 October 2020 |newspaper=] |issn=0013-0613 |quote=He has been called the most powerful man in Japanese politics, yet he is not even a politician. Daisaku Ikeda is the spiritual leader of the Soka Gakkai, a lay Buddhist group that can muster nearly 7m votes—a tenth of Japan's voting population (and a fifth of those who turn out in most elections). The Soka Gakkai's political arm, the New Komeito, is the second-largest opposition party in the Diet (parliament) and is notably influential in the upper house. That is a measure of Mr Ikeda's power.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Corduan |first=Winfried |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yba83tvjvZEC&pg=PA479 |title=Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World Religions |date=22 October 2012 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-0-8308-3970-4 |edition=2nd |page=479 |language=en |quote=footnote 37: The Komeito severed its organizational ties to SG in 1970, but has nonetheless remained the political arm of Sokka Gakkai in Japan. The party has gone through several mergers and divisions with other parties, but is presently a separate party again, known as 'New Komeito' (see Dobbelaere, ''Soka Gakkai'', pp. 60–73).}}</ref>{{rp|479}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Tellis |first1=Ashley J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oNvb4RBmZQUC&pg=PA75 |title=Domestic Political Change and Grand Strategy |last2=Wills |first2=Michael |date=2007 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-9713938-8-2 |page=75 |language=en |quote=In addition to forging coalitions with and even absorbing different conservative mini-parties, the LDP has since 1999 developed a partnership with the Komeito, the political arm of the religious group Sokagakkai with a strong base in Japanese cities.}}</ref>{{rp|75}}
	Coverage in SGI publications suggests Ikeda's meetings and dialogues illustrate the SGI movement’s commitment to peace, environmental concerns and ].<ref>Dobbelaere, Karel. “Toward a Pillar Organization?” In Machacek, David and Wilson, Bryan. 2000. Global Citizens: The Soka Gakkai Buddhist Movement in the World. p252. ISBN 0199240396</ref> Observers suggest the body of literature chronicling Ikeda’s more than 7,000 dialogues<ref>Goulah, Jason. “Dialogic Practice in Education.” In Urbain, Olivier. 2013. Daisaku Ikeda and Dialogue for Peace. London/New York: IB Taurus. p83. ISBN 9781780765723</ref> provides SGI members with a personal education and model of citizen diplomacy<ref>Metraux 1994, p171.</ref><ref>Seager 2006, p121.</ref> and, from a scholarly view, represents “a new current in interculturalism and educational philosophy.”<ref>Goulah, Jason. 2012. “Daisaku Ikeda and Value-Creative Dialogue: A new current in interculturalism and educational philosophy.” Educational Philosophy and Theory 44:9 (November 2013). Publisher: Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia. p997-1009. {{doi| 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2011.00827.x.}} Accessed June 15, 2014.</ref>
			===Censorship===
	Ikeda’s first meeting with ], in 1990, led to SGI-sponsored ] lectures, a traveling exhibit and student exchanges at the university level.<ref name="Seager 2006, p120">Seager 2006, p120.</ref>
			In 1970, there was a ] controversy about the intent to prevent the publication of Hirotatsu Fujiwara's polemical book, ''I denounce Soka Gakkai'', that vehemently criticized Ikeda, Soka Gakkai and the Komeito.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hrebenar|first=Ronald J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P6yhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT148|title=The Japanese Party System: From One-party Rule To Coalition Government|date=9 July 2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-000-30274-5|language=en}}</ref>{{rp|148}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Baffelli|first=Erica|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wFCFCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT112|title=Media and New Religions in Japan|date=5 February 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-11783-2|language=en}}</ref>{{rp|112}}<ref name="Seager 2006" />{{rp|96}} In his 3 May 1970 speech, addressing, among others, Soka Gakkai members, guests and news media, Ikeda responded to the controversy by: apologizing to the nation "for the trouble...the incident caused," affirming the Soka Gakkai's commitment to free speech and religious freedom, announcing a new policy of formal separation between the Soka Gakkai religious movement and Komeito, calling for both moderation in religious conversion practices and democratizing reforms in the Soka Gakkai, and envisioning a Buddhist-inspired humanism.<ref name="Seager 2006" />{{rp|97–98}}<ref>{{cite book |last=McLaughlin |first=Levi |editor-last1=Ehrhardt |editor-first1=George |editor-last2=Klein |editor-first2=Axel |editor-last3=McLaughlin |editor-first3=Levi |editor-last4=Reed |editor-first4=Steven R |title=Komeito: Politics and Religion in Japan |publisher=Institute of East AsianStudies |year=2014 |pages=51–82 |chapter=Chapter 3: Electioneering as Religious Practice: A History of Soka Gakkai's Political Activities to 1970 |isbn=978-1-55729-111-0
			}}</ref>{{rp|76–77}}
			In October 1982, Ikeda had to appear in court concerning three cases.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hrebenar|first=Ronald J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P6yhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT150|title=The Japanese Party System: From One-party Rule To Coalition Government|date=9 July 2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-000-30274-5|language=en|page=150|quote=October 1982 was an especially bad month for Soka Gakkai leader Ikeda Daisaku, who appeared in court three times to deny having affairs with Komeito Dietmembers, to testify the Yamazaki blackmail case, and to acknowledge that Soka Gakkai members had wiretapped the house of JCP leader Miyamoto Kenji.}}</ref>{{rp|150}}
	Ikeda made several visits to China and, in 1974, met with Chinese Premier ], establishing cultural exchanges of art, dance and music between China and Japan and opening academic exchanges between Chinese educational institutions and ].<ref name="Seager 2006, p120"/> Chinese media describe Ikeda as an early proponent of normalizing diplomatic relations between China and Japan in the 1970s, citing his 1968 proposal that drew condemnation by some and the interest of others including Zhou Enlai.<ref>Chong Zi and Qin Jize, . China Daily. May 9, 2008. p3.</ref><ref>“Ikeda was strongly criticized and even received death threats from right-wingers. Ikeda saw peace with China as fundamental to the stability of Asia, and considered the reintegration of China into the international community as vital to world peace. His call and behind-the-scenes efforts helped establish the groundwork for a series of political-level exchanges between China and Japan, culminating in the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1972.” Excerpted from Cai Hong, China Daily. July 4, 2012.</ref> It was said that Zhou Enlai entrusted Ikeda with ensuring that “Sino-Japanese friendship would continue for generations to come.”<ref>南开大学周恩来研究中心 (Zhou Enlai Research Center, Nankai University). 2001. 周恩来与池田大作 (Zhou Enlai and Daisaku Ikeda). 主编王永祥 (Edited by Wang Yongxian). Beijing, China: 中央文献出版社 (Central Literature Publishing House). p2. ISBN 7-5073-0973-8.</ref> Since 1975 cultural exchanges between the Min-On Concert Association, founded by Ikeda, and institutions including the ] have continued.<ref>Gan Xianyi. 2013. 7 November. CPAFFC. Accessed June 14, 2014.</ref><ref>Gao Hui. 2012. “Shaanxi Song and Dance Troupe’s Performance Tour in Japan.” . December 2012. p22. ISSN: 1000-9582. Accessed June 14, 2014.</ref> An observer estimated in 1984, after Ikeda’s visit to China and meetings with public figures including Chinese Communist Party Leader ] and ], that Ikeda’s 1968 proposal may have contributed to Japanese public sentiment on closer diplomatic ties with China and that Ikeda’s cultivation of educational and cultural ties helped strengthen state relations.<ref>Métraux, Daniel A. 1984. “Soka Gakkai Diplomacy”, parts I and II. July 11 and 12, 1984. Asahi Evening News.</ref>
	===Honorary doctorates and professorships===		==Philosophy and beliefs==
			Ikeda's relationship with his mentor, ], and influence of ]'s educational philosophy, shaped his emphasis on dialogue and education as fundamental to building trust between people and peace in society.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Goulah|first=Jason|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8YntCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT106|title=Daisaku Ikeda, Language and Education|date=8 April 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-91485-2|language=en|pages=106–107}}</ref> He interprets the ] as a path between idealism and materialism.
	Ikeda received his 300th degree from the ] on November 21, 2010.<ref></ref> He has said that "The academic honors I have accepted have all been on behalf of the members of SGI around the world."<ref>, University of Massachusetts Boston, 23 November 2010. Accessed 18 June 2014.</ref>
			Ikeda's use of the term ''ōbutsu myōgō'' in his 1964 book ''Seiji shūkyō'' (Politics and Religion) has been interpreted to mean "politics by people, with mercy and altruism as a Buddhist philosophy, different from the union of politics and religion (''seikyo icchi'')."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Daisuke Akimoto|first=Sōka University Peace Research Institute|date=1 May 2012|title=Kōmeitō in Japanese Politics|url=https://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/ejcjs/vol12/iss3/akimoto.html|access-date=18 February 2021|website=www.japanesestudies.org.uk|language=en-gb}}</ref>{{rp|4}} The term is also used by Ikeda in the ]'s founding statement.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hardacre |first1=Helen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mUuEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA166 |page=166|title=Japanese Constitutional Revisionism and Civic Activism |last2=George |first2=Timothy S. |last3=Komamura |first3=Keigo |last4=Seraphim |first4=Franziska |date=2021 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-7936-0905-2 |language=en|quote=Ikeda's use of ''ōbutsu myōgō'' in Komeito's founding statement reaffirmed Toda's goal, and members continued to be inspired by this millenarian aim as they worked for Komeito campaigns.}}</ref> In the 1969 edition of ''Seiji shūkyō'', "he declared that ''obutsu myogo'' would not be an act of Soka Gakkai imposing its will on the Japanese state to install Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism as the national creed," and that "Soka Gakkai, through Komeito, would instead guide Japan to a new, democratic world order, a 'Buddhist democracy' (''buppo minshu shugi'') combining the Dharma with the best of the Euro-American philosophical tradition to focus on social welfare and humanistic socialism."<ref>{{cite book |last=McLaughlin |first=Levi |editor-last1=Ehrhardt |editor-first1=George |editor-last2=Klein |editor-first2=Axel |editor-last3=McLaughlin |editor-first3=Levi |editor-last4=Reed |editor-first4=Steven R |title=Komeito: Politics and Religion in Japan |publisher=Institute of East AsianStudies |year=2014 |pages=51–82 |chapter=Chapter 3: Electioneering as Religious Practice: A History of Soka Gakkai's Political Activities to 1970 |isbn=978-1-55729-111-0}}</ref>{{rp|73}} Another interpretation of his views at that time was that "Buddhist democracy" could be achieved by a "religious revolution" through '']'' on the premise of achieving "social prosperity in accordance with individual happiness" for the entire society.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Baffelli|first=Erica|editor-last=Starrs|editor-first=Roy|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QLqADAAAQBAJ&pg=PA233|title=Politics and Religion in Modern Japan: Red Sun, White Lotus|date=9 August 2011|publisher=Springer|pages=216–239|chapter=Chapter 8: 'The Gakkai is Faith; the Kōmeitō is Action': Soka Gakkai and 'Buddhist Politics'|isbn=978-0-230-33668-1|language=en}}</ref>{{rp|233, 232}} In 1970, after Ikeda announced the severing of official ties between the Soka Gakkai and Komeito, the use of "politically charged terms such as ''obutsu myogo''" was eliminated.<ref>{{cite journal |last=McLaughlin|first=Levi|date=12 October 2015|title=Komeito's Soka Gakkai Protesters and Supporters: Religious Motivations for Political Activism in Contemporary Japan |journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal/Japan Focus |volume=13|issue=41|pages=1–31}}</ref>{{rp|15}}
	{| class="wikitable collapsible sortable collapsed"
	|-
	! Number
	! Country
	! Institution
	! Title conferred
	! Place and date
	|-
	| 1
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| May 1975<ref>http://www.phys.msu.ru/rus/about/sovphys/ISSUES-2006/6(53)-2006/53-5/</ref>
	|-
	| 2
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''hon. professorship''
	| April 1981{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 3
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| May 1981{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 4
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 1984{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 5
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 1984{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 6
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| February 1987{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 7
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| March 1990{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 8
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate'' (Maestro Emérito)
	| March 1990{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 9
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| November 1990{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 10
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| January 1991<ref>"" (PDF), University of Macau. Accessed 1 January 2010.</ref>
	|-
	| 11
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of law''
	| April 1991{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 12
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| May 1991{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 13
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''distinguished visiting professor''
	| January 1992<ref>. Press Release. 16 October 2000.</ref>
	|-
	| 14
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of social science''
	| June 1992{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 15
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary research professor''
	| October 1992{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-|
	| 16
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of letters''
	| December 1992<ref>. University of Nairobi.</ref>
	|-
	| 17
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| February 1993{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 18
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| February 1993{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 19
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship, faculty of law''
	| February 1993{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 20
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| February 1993{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 21
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of philosophy''
	| February 1993{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 22
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary visiting professor''{{Dubious|date=January 2010}}<!-- How is a visiting professorship "honorary"? -->
	| February 1993{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 23
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| March 1993{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 24
	| ]
	| Del Valle University
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| March 1993{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 25
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| November 1993{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 26
	| ]
	| Xinjian Uygur Autonomous Region Museum
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| January 1994{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 27
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| May 1994{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 28
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| June 1994{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 29
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| June 1994<ref name="Conferral Ceremony">{{cite web | url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRqrHI0RSjU | title = Conferral Ceremony | accessdate = 2012-10-05}}</ref>
	|-
	| 30
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| August 1994{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 31
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| November 1994{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 32
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of education''
	| September 1995{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 33
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of letters''
	| November 1995{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 34
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of social sciences''
	| November 1995<ref>池田大作教授領受名譽博士學位儀式 . 14 November 1995. . University of Macau Publications (澳
	大出版品).</ref>
	|-
	| 35
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of letters''
	| March 1996<ref>, University of Hong Kong, 2005. Accessed 1 January 2010.</ref>
	|-
	| 36
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary president''
	| April 1996{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 37
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of education''
	| June 1996{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 38
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of letters''
	| June 1996{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 39
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of law''
	| August 1996{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 40
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of international education''
	| November 1996{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 41
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| November 1996{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 42
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| February 1997{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 43
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humane letters (international education)''
	| March 1997{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 44
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of letters''
	| May 1997{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 45
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| May 1997{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 46
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| October 1997{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 47
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humanities''
	| November 1997{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 48
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humanities''
	| February 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 49
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| March 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 50
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| April 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 51
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| April 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 52
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of philosophy''
	| May 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 53
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| July 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 54
	| ]
	| Ricardo Palma University
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| July 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 55
	| ]
	| Association of Doctors of Education
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| July 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 56
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| November 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 57
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| November 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 58
	| ]
	| Northern Paraná University
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| November 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 59
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of letters''
	| December 1998{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 60
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| January 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 61
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| April 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 62
	| ]
	| Federico Villarreal National University
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| April 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 63
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of Korean language and literature''
	| May 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 64
	| ]
	| University of Santa Cruz de la Sierra
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| June 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 65
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| July 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 66
	| ]
	| Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures, Kyrgyz State Pedagogical University
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| August 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 67
	| ]
	| National University of Central Peru
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| September 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 68
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| September 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 69
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship, faculty of social sciences''
	| October 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 70
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| October 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 71
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| December 1999{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 72
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| January 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 73
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humane letters''
	| Tokyo, 16 January 2000<ref>"", University of Delaware ''Update'' vol. 19, no. 18, 3 February 2000. Accessed 1 January 2010.</ref>
	|-
	| 74
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humane letters''
	| January 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 75
	| ] (])
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humane letters''
	| January 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 76
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humanities''
	| February 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 77
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| February 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 78
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| February 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 79
	| ]
	| National University of Nordeste
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| February 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 80
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| March 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 81
	| ] (])
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| March 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 82
	| ]
	| Latin American Technical University
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| April 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 83
	| ]
	| Inner Mongolia Art Academy
	| ''preeminent honorary professor''
	| April 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 84
	| ]
	| Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath Institute of Sanskrit Learning
	| ''honorary doctorate (Mahamahopadhyaya)''
	| April 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 85
	| ]
	| Mongolian Institute of Literature and Social Work
	| ''honorary rector''
	| May 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 86
	| ]
	| Beijing Administrative College
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| May 2000<ref> Beijing Administrative College.</ref>
	|-
	| 87
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 88
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| August 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 89
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of letters''
	| August 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 90
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| September 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 91
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| September 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 92
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary lifetime professor in the Ambedhar School of Social Sciences''
	| October 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 93
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of public administration''
	| November 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 94
	| ]
	| Tonga Institute of Education and Tong Tonga Institute of Schinece and Technology
	| ''honorary professorship of education''
	| November 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 95
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of letters''
	| 24 November 2000<ref>, University of Sydney, 7 October 2010. Accessed 1 January 2010.</ref>
	|-
	| 96
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of letters''
	| November 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 97
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of social science''
	| 7 December 2000<ref>, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 16 October 2000. Retrieved 1 January 2010.</ref>
	|-
	| 98
	| ]
	| Mongolian University of Arts and Culture
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| December 2000{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 99
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of letters''
	| January 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 100
	| ]
	| Guangdong Province Academy of Social Sciences
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| February 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 101
	| ]
	| Northwest University
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| April 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 102
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| April 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 103
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humane letters in behavioral sciences''
	| May 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 104
	| ]
	| Kharakhorum University
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| May 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 105
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 106
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 107
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| July 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 108
	| ] (])
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| July 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 109
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| October 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 110
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| October 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 111
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humanities''
	| October 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 112
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| November 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 113
	| ]
	| Kyongju University
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| December 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 114
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of education''
	| December 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 115
	| ]
	| International Kazakh-Turkish University
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| December 2001{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 116
	| ]
	| Santiago Technical University
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| February 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 117
	| ]
	| National Institute of Arts and Design (Uzbekistan)
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| February 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 118
	| ]
	| Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences
	| ''senior research professor''
	| March 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 119
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humanities''
	| March 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 120
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| March 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 121
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| April 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 122
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humane letters''
	| April 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 123
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| April 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 124
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of letters''
	| April 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 125
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humane letters''
	| May 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 126
	| ]
	| Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| May 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 127
	| ]
	| Moscow State University
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 128
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 129
	| ]
	| Sorabol College
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 130
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of literature''
	| August 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 131
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| September 2002<ref>"", Renmin University of China. Accessed 12 February 2013.</ref>
	|-
	| 132
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| October 2002{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}}
	|-
	| 133
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| November 2002<ref> (“Zhejiang University President Pan Yunheʼs visit to Japan”). 11 November 2002. News. Office of Zhejiang University. Accessed 16 May 2014.</ref>
	|-
	| 134
	| ]
	| Shihihutung Law School
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| November 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 135
	| ]
	| Kiev National University of Trade and Economics
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| November 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 136
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of philosophy''
	| December 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 137
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| December 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 138
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| December 2002{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 139
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of literature''
	| January 2003{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 140
	| ]
	| National University of Piura
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| February 2003{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 141
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of philosophy''
	| March 2003{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 142
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| April 2003{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 143
	| ]
	| Columbia University of Paraguay
	| ''honorary doctorate of sociology''
	| April 2003{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 144
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| September 2003{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 145
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| October 2003{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 146
	| ]
	| Gwangju Women's University
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| October 2003{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 147
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| October 2003{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 148
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humane letters''
	| December 2003{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 149
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| December 2003{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 150
	| ] (])
	| Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| January 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 151
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of literature''
	| February 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 152
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship of humanities''
	| February 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 153
	| ]
	| National Prosecuters College
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| March 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 154
	| ]
	| National Pingtung University
	| ''honorary doctorate of agricultural sciences''
	| March 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 155
	| ] (])
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| April 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 156
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| April 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 157
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| May 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 158
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| May 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 159
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humanities''
	| June 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 160
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 161
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humane letters''
	| July 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 162
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| September 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 163
	| ]
	| Fujian Academy of Social Sciences
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| September 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 164
	| ]
	| Changchun University
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| October 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 165
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| October 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 166
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| November 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 167
	| ]
	| Paekche Institute of the Arts
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| November 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 168
	| ]
	|Otgontenger University
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| December 2004{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 169
	| ] (])
	| Northern Marianas College
	| ''honorary president''
	| January 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 170
	| ]
	| Enrique Guzman y Valle National University of Education
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| January 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 171
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| February 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 172
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of pedagogy''
	| March 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 173
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''professor emeritus of humanities''
	| April 2005 <ref> (College of Humanities Departmental Briefing: Economic Philosophy Department). Accessed August 8, 2014.</ref>
	|-
	| 174
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| April 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 175
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| May 2005<ref> Internet Archive of BLCU site. Accessed 15 August 2014.</ref>
			Ikeda refers in several writings to ] as an important conception for self-transformation, identifying the ninth one, "]", with the ]. According to him, the "transformation of the ] of one individual" can lead to the transformation of the entire society and humankind.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Braidotti|first1=Rosi|author-link=Rosi Braidotti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-TaDwAAQBAJ|title=Deleuze and the Humanities: East and West|last2=Wong|first2=Kin Yuen|last3=Chan|first3=Amy K. S.|date=14 March 2018|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-78660-601-3|language=en|pages=45–58|chapter=Tony See, "Deleuze and Ikeda: Two Concepts of revolution"}}</ref>
	|-
	| 176
	| ]
	| Cornélio Procópio College of Philosophy, Science, and Letters
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| May 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 177
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 178
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| July 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 179
	| ]
	| Mongolian Academy of Sciences Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and Law
	| ''honorary professorship, philosophy''
	| September 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 180
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| September 2005 <ref> (National University, Hanoi awards honorary doctorate degree to Dr. Daisaku Ikeda), 29 September 2005. Accessed 13 August 2014.</ref>
	|-
	| 181
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| October 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 182
	| ]
	| Braca Karic University
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| October 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 183
	| ]
	| Academy of Security, Defense, and Law Enforcement
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| December 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 184
	| ]
	| Symbiosis International Educational Centre (Deemed University)
	| ''honorary doctorate of literature''
	| December 2005{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 185
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| January 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 186
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship of humanities''
	| February 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 187
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humanities''
	| March 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 188
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| April 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 189
	| ]
	| National Technical University of Ukraine "KPI"
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| April 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 190
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| May 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 191
	| ]
	| Nanjing Arts Institute
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| May 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 192
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of literature''
	| May 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 193
	| ]
	| China Southwest University of Political Science and Law
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 194
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humane letters''
	| June 2006<ref name="siuc_recommendation"></ref>
	|-
	| 195
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 196
	| ]
	| Shaoguan University
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| June 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 197
	| ]
	| Dong Shin University
	| ''honorary doctorate of public administration''
	| June 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 198
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of administration''
	| July 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 199
	| ]
	| Catholic College of Economic Science of Bahia
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| September 2006{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 200
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| October 2006{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 201
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humanities''
	| Nov 24, 2006{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 202
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Dec 8, 2006{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 203
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Feb 6, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 204
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Feb 26, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 205
	| ]
	| Baikal National University of Economics and Law
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Mar 13, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 206
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| Mar 20, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 207
	| ]
	| Santa María University
	| ''honorary doctorate of law''
	| Mar 20, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 208
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of communication sciences''
	| Mar 23, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 209
	| ]
	| Brazilian Academy of Philosophy
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| Apr 2, 2007<ref name="Conferral Ceremony"/>
	|-
	| 210
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humane letters''
	| Apr 17, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 211
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Apr 18, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 212
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| Apr 29, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 213
	| ]
	| Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| May 5, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 214
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of engineering''
	| May 28, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 215
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| May 31, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 216
	| ]
	| National University of El Santa
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| Jun 23, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 217
	| ] (])
	| The Yakut State Agricultural Academy
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Jul 4, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 218
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Jul 9, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 219
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of education''
	| Sep 13, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 220
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Oct 6, 2007<ref name="Conferral Ceremony"/>
	|-
	| 221
	| ]
	| University of Humanistic Integration
	| ''honorary doctorate of human sciences''
	| Oct 8, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 222
	| ]
	| Ingá University (UNINGÁ)
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Oct 10, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 223
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Oct 21, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 224
	| ]
	| Mongolian State University of Education
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| Oct 24, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 225
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Nov 30, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 226
	| ]
	| Shanghai Normal University
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Dec 17, 2007{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 227
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| Jan 19, 2008{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 228
	| ]
	| National Yunlin University of Science and Technology
	| ''honorary doctorate of philosophy in management''
	| Jan 21, 2008{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 229
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of philosophy in humanities''
	| Jan 26, 2008{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 230
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Mar 1, 2008{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 231
	| ]
	| I. Arabaev Kyrgyz State University
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| Mar 21, 2008{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 232
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Mar 31, 2008<ref>, Jiaying University. Accessed 12 February 2013.</ref>
	|-
	| 233
	| ]
	| Tula Lev Tolstoy State Pedagogical University
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Apr 2, 2008{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 234
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Apr 13, 2008{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
	|-
	| 235
	| ]
	| Yan'a University
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| May 4, 2008<ref>"", Yan'an University. Accessed 12 February 2013.</ref>
	|-
	| 236
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''lifetime honorary professorship''
	| May 30, 2008{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}
	|-
	| 237
	| ]
	| Changchun University of Technology
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Jun 2, 2008{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}
	|-
	| 238
	| ]
	| Centro Universitário de Goiás
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| Jun 17, 2008{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}
	|-
	| 239
	| ]
	| Centro Universitário Ítalo Brasileiro
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| Jun 20, 2008{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}
	|-
	| 240
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humanities''
	| Jul 10, 2008{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}
	|-
	| 241
	| ]
	| Chungyu Institute of Technology
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Jul 22, 2008{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}
	|-
	| 242
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary professorship''
	| Jul 24, 2008{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}
	|-
	| 243
	| ]
	| ]
	| hon doc of education in ancient learning, culture and world peace
	| Sep 2008{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}}
	|-
	| 244
	| ]
	| ]
	| hon doc of humanities
	| Oct 2008{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}}
	|-
	| 245
	| ]
	| ]
	| hon doc of humanities
	| Oct 2008{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}}
	|-
	| 246
	| ]
	| ]
	| hon prof
	| Dec 2008<ref> (Our School Delegation to Japan, South Korea). 23 December 2008.</ref>
	|-
	| 247
	| ]
	| Uzbekistan State Institute of Arts
	| hon prof
	| Jan 2009{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}}
	|-
	| 248
	| ]
	| ]
	| hon doc of arts (humanities)
	| Feb 2009<ref>. Last updated April 1, 2010. OUM News & Events. Accessed August 1, 2014.</ref><ref>. February 24, 2010. Bernama Education News Update. Accessed August 1, 2014.</ref>
	|-
	| 249
	|], ]
	| University of Aquino-Bolivia (Udabol)
	| hon doc
	| Mar 2009<ref>, El Deber. March 5, 2009. Accessed 31 August 2014.</ref>
	|-
	| 250
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| March 21, 2009{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}
	|-
	| 251
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''University Professor''
	| Apr 2, 2009{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}
	|-
	| 252
	| ]
	| Issyk-Kul State University
	| hon prof
	| Apr 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|253
	|]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|Apr 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|254
	|]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|Apr 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|255
	|], UK
	|Queen's University Belfast
	|hon doc of laws
	|May 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|256
	|]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|May 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|257
	|]
	|]
	|hon doc of humanities
	|Jun 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|258
	|]
	|]
	|hon doc
	|Jul 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|259
	|]
	|]
	|hon doc of literature
	|Sep 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|260
	|], China
	|Asia International Open University (Macau)
	|honorary doctorate of philosophy
	|Sep 2009{{Citation needed|date=November 2014}}
	|-
	|261
	|]
	|Maranhão School of Government
	|honorary professorship
	|Sep 2009{{Citation needed|date=November 2014}}
	|-
	|262
	|]
	|Silva e Souza Integrated College
	|honorary doctorate of architecture and urban engineering
	|Sep 2009{{Citation needed|date=November 2014}}
	|-
	| 263
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy and Peace''
	| Soka University, October 10, 2009<ref>"".</ref>
	|-
	|264
	|]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|Oct 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|265
	|]
	|]
	|emeritus prof
	|Oct 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|266
	|], Russia
	|Yakutsk Teacher-training College No.1
	|hon prof
	|Oct 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|267
	|]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|Nov 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|268
	|]
	|Xi'an University of Technology
	|hon prof
	|Nov 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|269
	|]
	|]
	|hon lifetime prof
	|Nov 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|270
	|]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|Dec 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|271
	|]
	|Enrique Díaz de León University
	|hon doc
	|Dec 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|272
	|]
	|Xi'an Peihua University
	|hon prof
	|Dec 2009{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|273
	|], USA
	|]
	|hon prof
	|Jan 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|274
	|]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|Jan 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|275
	|]
	|Institute of Fine Arts, ]
	|hon doc
	|Feb 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|276
	|]
	|Xi'an International University
	|hon prof
	|Feb 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|277
	|]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|Mar 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|278
	|], ]
	|Bicentennial University of Aragua
	|hon doc of education
	|Mar 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|279
	|], ]
	|Bicentennial University of Aragua
	|hon prof
	|Mar 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|280
	|]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|Mar 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|281
	|]
	|]
	|centennial hon prof
	|Mar 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	| 282
	| ]
	| Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts and Artists
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| Japan, April 2, 2010<ref>"", Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts and Artists, reproduced at ], 26 March 2011.</ref>
	|-
	|283
	|], China
	|Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences
	|hon prof
	|Apr 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|284
	|], China
	|]
	|hon prof
	|Apr 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|285
	|], China
	|]
	|lifetime hon prof
	|Apr 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|286
	|], China
	|]
	|hon prof
	|Apr 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	| 287
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of education''
	| May 4, 2010<ref>"", Université Laval. Accessed 1 January 2010.</ref>
	|-
	|288
	|], China
	|]
	|hon prof
	|May 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|289
	|], China
	|]
	|hon prof
	|May 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|290
	|], China
	|Ningbo University
	|hon prof
	|June 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|291
	|], China
	|]
	|hon prof
	|June 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|292
	|], USA
	|]
	|hon doc of humane letters
	|July 2010<ref>http://news.gmu.edu/articles/3392</ref>
	|-
	|293
	|], Taiwan
	|]
	|hon prof
	|July 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|294
	|], Taiwan
	|]
	|hon prof
	|July 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	| 295
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humanities''
	| August 2, 2010<ref>"", Universiti Malaya.</ref>
	|-
	|296
	|], Kyrgyzstan
	|Osh Humanitarian Pedagogical Institute
	|hon prof
	|August 2010<ref name="oshmed.com"> OSU News. Accessed August 4, 2014.</ref>
	|-
	|297
	|], Kyrgyzstan
	|Osh Agricultural Institute
	|hon prof
	|August 2010<ref name="oshmed.com"/>
	|-
	| 298
	| ]
	| Universidad Pedro de Valdivia
	| ''honorary doctorate''
	| Soka University, August 30, 2010<ref>"", Universia, 9 September 2010. Accessed 19 March 2012.</ref>
	|-
	| 299
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary doctorate of humanities''
	| October 9, 2010{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
	|-
	| 300
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''honorary degree''
	| Shinjuku, Tokyo, November 18, 2010<ref>. Office of Communications. UMass Boston News. November 23, 2010. Accessed June 27, 2014.</ref>
	|-
	|301
	|], Brazil
	|]
	|hon doc
	|November 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|302
	|], China
	|]
	|hon prof
	|December 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|303
	|], Brazil
	|São Paulo Metropolitan University
	|hon prof
	|December 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|304
	|], Brazil
	|]
	|hon doc
	|December 2010<ref> Accessed August 4, 2014.</ref>
	|-
	|305
	|], Taiwan
	|]
	|hon doc
	|December 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|306
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of business administration
	|December 2010{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|307
	|]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|January 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|308
	|], Kyrgyzstan
	|Kyrgyz-Russian Academy of Education
	|hon prof
	|March 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|309
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|May 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|310
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|May 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|311
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of business administration
	|July 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|312
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of humanities
	|July 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|313
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of international and area studies
	|September 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|314
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of laws
	|September 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|315
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon lifetime prof
	|October 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|316
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|October 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	| 317
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''Honorary Doctorate of Literature''
	| Oct 25, 2011<ref>{{cite web | url = https://extranet.buckingham.ac.uk/alumnet/news-japan.aspx | title = Buckingham delegation visits Japan | accessdate = 2011-11-27}}</ref>
	|-
	| 318
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''Honorary Professor''
	| Nov 9, 2011{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}
	|-
	|319
	|], ]
	|Russian State University of Trade and Economics
	|hon doc
	|November 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|320
	|], ]
	|Termez State University
	|hon prof
	|December 2011{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|321
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|January 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|322
	|], ]
	|Bishkek Humanities University
	|hon doc
	|March 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|323
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of humanities
	|March 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|324
	|], ]
	|Private Technological University of Santa Cruz (Utepsa)
	|hon doc
	|March 2012<ref>, El Deber. April 26, 2012. Accessed 29 September 2014.</ref>
	|-
	|325
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|April 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|326
	|], ]
	|Technological University of Peru
	|hon doc
	|May 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|327
	|], ]
	|Technological University of Peru
	|professor emeritus, Faculty of Law, Political Science and International Relations
	|May 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|328
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|May 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|329
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon prof, College of Arts
	|June 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|330
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|June 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|331
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of laws
	|September 2012<ref>“U of G President Receives International Awards,” , p7. Accessed August 5, 2014.</ref>
	|-
	|332
	|], ]
	|Dom Bosco College of Higher Education
	|hon doc
	|September 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|333
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|October 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|334
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc
	|November 2012{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|335
	|], ]
	|Amazonian University of Pando
	|hon doc
	|February 2013{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|336
	|], ]
	|Kyrgyz-Chinese Humanitarian Economic Institute
	|hon prof
	|February 2013{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|337
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of humanities
	|March 2013{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|338
	| ]
	| ]
	| ''Doctor of Social Science honoris causa''
	| Apr, 2013<ref>{{cite news|title=Honorary Doctorates|url=http://www.ukzn.ac.za/publications/UKZNdaba-Graduation-2013.pdf | accessdate=27 February 2014|newspaper=UKZNDABA Graduation Special 2013|date=May 2013|page=11}}</ref>
	|-
	|339
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of philosophy
	|August 2013{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|340
	|Armenia
	|]
	|hon doc
	|September 2013{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|341
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of humanities
	|October 2013{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|342
	|], ]
	|Dalian Art College
	|hon prof
	|October 2013{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|343
	|Peru
	|Universidad Peruana de las Americas/Peruvian University of the Americas
	|hon doc
	|November 2013{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|344
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of humanities
	|November 2013{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|345
	|], ]
	|Pushkin State Russian Language Institute
	|hon doc
	|November 2013{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|346
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon prof extraordinary
	|February 2014{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|347
	|], ]
	|Satyendra Narayan Sinha Institute of Business Management
	|hon prof
	|March 2014{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|348
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of humanities
	|April 2014{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|349
	|], ]
	|Tianjin Foreign Studies University
	|hon prof
	|May 2014{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|350
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc
	|May 2014{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|351
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon prof
	|July 2014{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}
	|-
	|352
	|], ]
	|Yakutsk Teacher-training College
	|hon prof
	|September 2014{{Citation needed|date=September 2014}}
	|-
	|353
	|], ]
	|]
	|hon doc of humanities
	|September 2014<ref>, University of the East News. September 29, 2014. Accessed 29 September 2014.</ref>
	|}
	===Other awards===		==Accomplishments==
			===Institutional engagement===
	* ] Peace Award (1983, USA)<ref>{{cite web|title=Library of Congress|url=http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80057248.html|accessdate=17 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="CASID">{{cite web|title=CASID|url=http://www.casid.org/casid_daisaku.html |accessdate=16 January 2015}}</ref>
			{{further|Soka School System}}
	* Rosa Parks Humanitarian Award (1993, USA)<ref>{{cite web|title=CASID|url=http://www.casid.org/casid_daisaku.html|accessdate=16 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="webcache.googleusercontent.com">{{cite web|title=Daisaku Ikeda's Environmental Ethics of Humanitarian Competition|url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Jrty-KjTYJkJ:peaceconsortium.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Jason-Goulah-Pg-1-23.doc+&cd=64&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl |accessdate=16 January 2015}}</ref>
	* International Tolerance Award from the ] (1993, Los Angeles, Calif.)<ref name="CASID"/><ref name="webcache.googleusercontent.com"/>
			Ikeda founded a number of institutions to promote ], ] and the exchange of ideas on ] through dialogue. They include: ] in Tokyo, Japan, and ] in Aliso Viejo, California; the Victor Hugo House of Literature, in France; the International Committee of Artists for Peace in the United States; the ] in Japan...
	* ] (1997, India)<ref>{{cite web|title=Shihab Ghanem receives Tagore Peace Award|url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?section=newsmakers&xfile=/data/newsmakers/2013/May/newsmakers_May11.xml|publisher=Khaleej Times|accessdate=16 December 2013}}</ref>
	* Rizal International Peace Award (1998, the Philippines) from the Knights of Rizal<ref>Roxas-Mendoza, Psyche. “Daisaku Ikeda—Japanʼs Flowing River of Peace.” Philippine Graphic (February 23, 1998), pp22-25.</ref>
			From 1990, Ikeda partnered with Rabbi Abraham Cooper and the ] to address ]<nowiki>. {{</nowiki>''Citation needed''<nowiki>}}</nowiki>
	*International Literary Award for Understanding and Friendship (2003, Beijing, China) from the China Literature Foundation and Chinese Writersʼ Association <ref> China Daily, December 10, 2003. p2.</ref>
	* ] (2005, India) for "Outstanding Contribution in Promotion of Gandhian Values Outside India by Individuals other than Indian Citizens"<ref>{{cite web |title=Jamnalal Bajaj Awards Archive |url=http://www.jamnalalbajajfoundation.org/awards/archives/2005/international/daisaku-ikeda |publisher=]}}</ref>
			===Peace proposals===
	* ] (2008, Russia)<ref>{{cite web|title=On the Ceremony of the Order of Friendship: Honorary President of the Society Soka Gakkai Daisaku Ikeda at the Russian Embassy of Japan|url=http://www.mid.ru/bdomp/ns-dgpch.nsf/e1ba1f22aa1f4d74c3256e0b004ca077/ed4227bda15d8a55c32573fe00407751!OpenDocument|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation official website|accessdate=28 January 2014|language=Russian|date=February 29, 2008}}</ref>
			Since 26 January 1983, Ikeda had submitted annual peace proposals to the United Nations, addressing such areas as building a ], ] in education, ], ] and ] for peace, ] and ] with a view on ].<ref>{{cite book|last=Chowdhury|first=Ambassador Anwaraul K|editor-last=Urbain|editor-first=Olivier|title=A Forum for Peace: Daisaku Ikeda's Proposals to the UN|publisher=I.B. Taurus|date=2014|pages=xi–xiv|chapter=Foreword|isbn=978-1-78076-840-3}}</ref>
	* Gold Medal for Peace with Justice from the ] (2009, Australia)<ref>{{cite web|title=2009 - Daisaku Ikeda|url=http://sydneypeacefoundation.org.au/peace-projects/sydney-peace-foundation-gold-medal/ |accessdate=16 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Guardian|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/blog/2011/feb/02/the-us-embassy-cables|accessdate=16 January 2015}}</ref>
	*Indology Award (2011, India) for “outstanding contribution in the field of Indic research and Oriental wisdom” from ] Publishers<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Indology Award for Soka Gakkai president Ikeda |url= http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/indology-award-for-soka-gakkai-president-ikeda/article1091805.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |location= New Delhi |publisher= Kasturi & Sons Ltd |date= January 14, 2011 |accessdate= 22 August 2014}}</ref>
			Ikeda's proposals for nuclear disarmament and abolishing nuclear weapons were submitted to the special session of the ]<nowiki> in 1978, 1982 and 1988. {{</nowiki>''Citation needed''<nowiki>}}</nowiki>
	*Golden Heart Award (2012, the Philippines) from the Knights of Rizal <ref>, December 17, 2012. Accessed July 13, 2014.</ref>
			===Citizen diplomacy===
			Ikeda has described his travels, meetings and dialogues as ].<ref name="Métraux 1994b">Métraux, Daniel A. 1994. The Soka Gakkai Revolution. Lanham/New York/London: University Press of America {{ISBN|0-8191-9733-5}}</ref>{{rp|126}}<ref>Seager 2006, p119.</ref>
			Researchers linked to Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai have suggested the body of literature chronicling Ikeda's diplomatic efforts and his international dialogues provide readers with a personalized global education and model of citizen diplomacy.<ref>Goulah, Jason. "Dialogic Practice in Education." In Urbain, Olivier. 2013. Daisaku Ikeda and Dialogue for Peace. London/New York: I.B. Tauris. p83. {{ISBN|978-1-78076-572-3}}</ref>
			First in 1967 then several times in 1970, Ikeda met with Austrian-Japanese politician and philosopher ], founder of the ]. Their discussions which focused on east–west relations and the future of peace work were serialized in the '']'' newspaper in 1971.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Teranashi|first1=Hirotomo|editor1-last=Urbain|editor1-first=Olivier|title=Daisaku Ikeda and Dialogue for Peace|date=2013|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-0-85773-413-6| page=23|quote=However, his meetings with Count Coudenhove-Kalergi that took place in 1967 and 1970 were of a different nature. These meetings covered subjects such as a comparison of the cultures of East and West and discussions on the future direction the world ought to take. This may be considered Ikeda's first full-fledged exchange of views with the international intelligentsia.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |year= 2013 |url= http://www.law.tohoku.ac.jp/~tozawa/RCK%20HP/RCKjap3.htm |script-title=ja:クーデンホーフ·カレルギーと創価学会 (Coudenhove-Kalergi and the Soka Gakkai) |last=Tozawa|first=Hidenori |publisher=Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi Forum (School of Law, Tohoku University) |access-date=25 April 2019 |language=ja}}</ref> In 1974, Ikeda conducted a dialogue with French novelist and then former Minister of Cultural Affairs ].<ref>{{cite book|title=Ningen kakumei to ningen no joken (Changes Within: Human Revolution vs. Human Condition)|author=Andre Malraux and Daisaku Ikeda |publisher=Ushio Shuppansha Tokyo |year=2010}}</ref>
			In January 1975, Ikeda met with ], then ], to "urge the de-escalation of nuclear tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union."<ref name=tricycle_nukes>{{cite news |title=No More Nukes |date=3 February 2015 |work=Tricycle |url=http://www.tricycle.com/blog/no-more-nukes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218005402/http://www.tricycle.com/blog/no-more-nukes |archive-date=18 February 2015 |access-date=19 February 2015}}</ref> The same month Ikeda met with Secretary-General of the United Nations ]. Ikeda presented Waldheim with a petition containing the signatures of 10,000,000 people calling for total nuclear abolition. The petition was organized by youth groups of the Soka Gakkai International and was inspired by Ikeda's longtime anti-nuclear efforts.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nanda|first1=Ved P.|editor1-last=Krieger|editor1-first=David|title=The Challenge of Abolishing Nuclear Weapons|date=2009|publisher=Transaction Publishers|location=New Brunswick, N.J.|isbn=978-1-4128-1517-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ikeda |first=Daisaku |date=1987 |title=The Human Revolution: A Prerequisite for Lasting Peace |url=https://mje.mcgill.ca/article/view/7763 |journal=McGill Journal of Education|volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=246–257 |access-date=20 January 2022 |quote=In 1972, I suggested the initiation of a youth movement to devent the sanctity of life, and its dignity. ... First, a campaign to collect signatures for petitions seeking the abolition of nuclear weapons and an end to war was carried out across Japan. Ten million signatures were collected; ten million people announced their wish for peace and a nuclear-free world. In 1975, I passed these petitions to Kurt Waldheim, then secretary-general of the United Nations.}}</ref>{{rp|250}}
			Ikeda's meetings with ] in the 1990s led to a series of Soka Gakkai International-sponsored ] lectures, a traveling exhibit, and multiple student exchange programs at the university level.<ref name="Seager 2006, p120">Seager 2006, p120.</ref> Their October 1990 meeting in Tokyo led to collaboration with the ] and the United Nations Apartheid Center on an anti-apartheid exhibit inaugurated in Yokohama, Japan "on the 15th anniversary of the ]s (16 June 1976)."<ref name="Dessì 2020">{{cite journal |last= Dessì |first=Ugo |date=2020 |title=Soka Gakkai International in Post-Apartheid South Africa |journal=Religions |volume=11 |issue=11 |page=598 |doi=10.3390/rel11110598 |doi-access=free }}</ref>{{rp|9}}
			===Sino-Japanese relations===
	===Meetings with foreign leaders===
			Ikeda made several visits to China and met with Chinese Premier ] in 1974, though ] tensions remained over the brutalities of ] waged by the ].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.zhouenlaipeaceinstitute.org/en/building-peace/world-youth-symposium/ |title=World Youth Symposium, Nankai University, Tianjin |last=Zhou |first=Xiaofang |date=6 December 2014 |publisher=Zhou Enlai Peace Institute |access-date=22 November 2016 |quote=At that time, Premier Zhou met with the great scholar and peace advocate, Mr. Daisaku Ikeda. His heart was still in pain, because of the campaign of the Japanese militarists against China, and the war between the two peoples was still fresh with the memory of enormous pain and suffering. But Premier Zhou Enlai of China received Dr. Ikeda with dignity and compassion; their conversation is of historic significance and bore great fruit. It set the stage for breaking the deadlock with the US and China, through the visit of Mr. Kissinger and President Nixon to China, and signalled the beginning of a move toward the normalization of relations.}}</ref> The visits led to the establishment of cultural exchanges, and opened academic exchanges between Chinese educational institutions and ].<ref name="Seager 2006, p120"/> Chinese media describe Ikeda as an early proponent of normalizing diplomatic relations between China and Japan in the 1970s, citing his 1968 proposal that drew condemnation by some and the interest of others including Zhou Enlai.<ref>Chong Zi and Qin Jize, . China Daily. 9 May 2008. p3.</ref><ref>"Ikeda was strongly criticized and even received death threats from right-wingers. Ikeda saw peace with China as fundamental to the stability of Asia, and considered the reintegration of China into the international community as vital to world peace. His call and behind-the-scenes efforts helped establish the groundwork for a series of political-level exchanges between China and Japan, culminating in the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1972." Excerpted from Cai Hong, China Daily. 4 July 2012.</ref> It was said that Zhou Enlai entrusted Ikeda with ensuring that "Sino-Japanese friendship would continue for generations to come."<ref>南开大学周恩来研究中心 (Zhou Enlai Research Center, Nankai University). 2001. 周恩来与池田大作 (Zhou Enlai and Daisaku Ikeda). 主编王永祥 (Edited by Wang Yongxian). Beijing, China: ] (Central Literature Publishing House). p2. {{ISBN|7-5073-0973-8}}.</ref>
	]
	Among the hundreds of meetings between Ikeda and foreign leaders are some that have subsequently proved embarrassing, notably the occasion when he was photographed together with Romanian General Secretary ] and repeated meetings with military dictator ] of Panama. Ikeda had an especially close relationship with Noriega. Both were self-educated men with strong personalities and intellectual ambitions.<ref name=kempe/> Noriega repeatedly visited the ] and Noriega hosted Ikeda on several visits to Panama. Both leaders praised each other's virtues in public statements.<ref name=gakkairevolution>{{cite book|last=Métraux|first=Daniel A.|title=The Soka Gakkai revolution|year=1994|publisher=University Press of America|location=Lanham, Md.|isbn=978-0819197337}}</ref>{{rp|160}} After a 1981 visit, Noriega named a scenic observation point on one of the ] at the Pacific approach to the Panama Canal "Mirador Ikeda",<ref>{{cite journal|title=Reunion with Panamanian Leader|journal=The Soka Gakkai News|year=1985|volume=191-237|page=9}}</ref> and he presented Ikeda with the ]. The Soka Gakkai reciprocated by creating a "Noriega Garden" at one of its locales in ].<ref name=karuto>{{cite book|last=Furukawa|first=Toshiaki|title=Karuto to shite no Sōka Gakkai = Ikeda Daisaku|year=2000|publisher=Daisan Shokan|location=Tokyo|isbn=978-4807400171|edition=Shohan|pages=99–101}}</ref>
			==Accolades==
	Friends of Noriega and anonymous American sources have alleged that Ikeda provided him with several million dollars' worth of assistance during the worst part of Noriega's crisis in 1987 and 1988, though Soka Gakkai spokesmen have repeatedly denied this.<ref name=kempe>{{cite book|last=Kempe|first=Frederick|title=Divorcing the dictator: America's bungled affair with Noriega|year=1990|publisher=Tauris|location=London|isbn=1-85043-259-7|page=286}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Tsurumi|first1=Yoshihiro|title=Amerikagoroshi no chōhassō: "dorei" Nihon yo, me o samase! seido hirō o sugu tadase!|date=1994|publisher=Tokuma Shoten|location=Tokyo|isbn=4198501653}}</ref> The "Noriega Garden" was unceremoniously destroyed after Noriega's arrest.<ref name=karuto/>
			{{Further|List of awards and honours received by Daisaku Ikeda}}
	==Personal life==		==Personal life==
	Ikeda lives in Tokyo with his wife, Kaneko (born 1932), whom he married on May 3, 1952. He has three sons, Hiromasa (born 1953; Vice-president of Soka Gakkai),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sgi.org/news/c-activities/ce2012/soka-gakkai-delegation-visits-china.html |title=Soka Gakkai Delegation Visits China |publisher=Soka Gakkai International |date=2012-01-13 |accessdate=2013-11-06}}</ref> Shirohisa (1955–1984), and Takahiro (born 1958).		Ikeda lived in Tokyo with his wife, Kaneko Ikeda (née Kaneko Shiraki), whom he married on 3 May 1952. The couple had three sons, Hiromasa, Shirohisa (died 1984), and Takahiro.
			Hiromasa Ikeda is the executive vice-president of the Soka Gakkai International and trustee of the Soka University in Japan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DePaul College of Education |title=Acceptance Speech on the Conferral of the Degree of Doctorate of Human Letters, Honoris Causa from DePaul University |url=https://education.depaul.edu/about/centers-and-initiatives/institute-for-daisaku-ikeda-studies/Pages/messages-from-daisaku-ikeda.aspx |access-date=9 September 2024}}</ref>
	==Critical commentary==
	A 1995 '']'' article titled "Japan Fears Another Religious Sect" outlined charges in Japan of "heavy-handed fund raising and proselytizing , as well as intimidating its foes and trying to grab political power".<ref name="magee">Michelle Magee, "", ''San Francisco Chronicle,'' 27 December 1995. Accessed 6 November 2013.</ref> It quotes Takashi Shokei, a professor at ], as describing Ikeda as "a power-hungry individual who intends to take control of the government and make Soka Gakkai the national religion"; the article describes a videotape made in 1993 of Ikeda "yelling and pounding on tables in anger and later railing against President Clinton for having refused to meet with him".<ref name="magee" />
			Takahiro Ikeda is director of the ], the educational corporation of the Sôka Gakkai.
	A 1995 '']'' article criticized Daisaku Ikeda and Soka Gakkai, claiming that "according to a member who was present" Ikeda, as "honorary president and unquestioned commander" of Soka Gakkai, had said of ]: "This time, not the next time, is going to be about winning or losing. We cannot hesitate. We must conquer the country with one stroke."<ref>Edward W. Desmond, {{Wayback |date=20100817104738 |url=http://www.time.com/time/international/1995/951120/japan.html |title="The Power of Sōka Gakkai: Growing revelations about the complicated and sinister nexus of politics and religion"}}, ''Time,'' 20 November 1995.</ref>
			Daisaku Ikeda died on 15 November 2023, at the age of 95. His death was publicly announced on 18 November.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nordot.app/1098486361100419680?c=899922300288598016 |title=池田大作名誉会長は15日に老衰で死去 |date=18 November 2023 |website=Kyodo News |access-date=18 November 2023 |language=ja |trans-title=Honorary Chairman Daisaku Ikeda died of old age on the 15th. |author1=共同通信 }}</ref>
	In 1999, '']'' published an article on the uneasy rise of the ] in Japan (funded largely by Ikeda and Soka Gakkai).<ref name="french_uneasiness"/> In response, a ] by ] (later of ]) offered a more sympathetic portrayal of Soka Gakkai.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/19/opinion/l-japanese-sect-s-appeal-509957.html | work=The New York Times | title=Japanese sect's appeal | first=Alfred | last=Balitzer | date=November 19, 1999}}</ref>
	==Books==		==Books==
			===Dialogue with Toynbee===
	Ikeda is understood, at least by SGI members, to be a prolific writer, peace activist and interpreter of Nichiren Buddhism.<ref>Chilson, Clark. 2014. vol 15 (2014):65-78. p67. ISSN: 15276457 (online)</ref> His interests in photography, art, philosophy, poetry and music are reflected in his published works. In his essay collections and dialogues with political, cultural, and educational figures he discusses, among other topics: the transformative value of religion, the universal sanctity of life,<ref>"", The World is Yours to Change, . Accessed April 29, 2013.</ref> social responsibility, and sustainable progress and development.
			The 1976 publication of ''Choose Life: A Dialogue'' (in Japanese, ''Nijusseiki e no taiga'') is the published record of dialogues and correspondences that began in 1971 between Ikeda and British historian ] about the "convergence of East and West"<ref>McNeill, William H. 1989. Arnold J. Toynbee: A Life. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. p273. {{ISBN|0-19-505863-1}}</ref> on contemporary as well as perennial topics ranging from the human condition to the role of religion and the future of human civilization. As of 2012, the book had been translated and published in twenty-six languages.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Goulah Jason, Ito Takao | year = 2012 | title = Daisaku Ikeda's Curriculum of Soka Education: Creating Value Through Dialogue, Global Citizenship, and 'Human Education' in the Mentor-Disciple Relationship | journal = Curriculum Inquiry | volume = 42 | issue = 1| page = 65 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2011.00572.x| s2cid = 143095558 }}</ref>
			But Toynbee being "paid well" for the interviews with Ikeda raised criticism : "he accepted the dialogue with the controversial Ikeda primarily for the money", according to historian Louis Turner.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1fV5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA292|page=292|author=Louis Turner|editor=Hugh Cortazzi|editor-link=Hugh Cortazzi|chapter=Arnold Toynbee and Japan: From Historian to Guru|title=Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits, Vol. VII|date=2010-09-23|publisher=]|isbn=978-90-04-21803-1|language=en|quote=Toynbee "was paid well for six days of extended interviews . The Toynbee-Ikeda dialogue was the final book in Toynbee's prolific career, which meant that his career ended on a controversial note. In some ways this dialogue played into the hands of Toynbee's critics who disliked his obsession with money. Just as his reputation had suffered in the US from his obsession with accepting lucrative lecturing engagements without much concern about the quality of the institutions he was addressing, so it can be argued that he accepted the dialogue with the controversial Ikeda primarily for the money. The controversial Ikeda/Soka Gakkai attempt to use Toynbee's name and reputation needs to be seen in a wider context.}}</ref> To an ] letter critical of Toynbee's association with Ikeda and Soka Gakkai, Toynbee wrote back: "I agree with Soka Gakkai on religion as the most important thing in human life, and on opposition to militarism and war."<ref>Qtd. in McNeill 1989, pp 272–273.</ref>
	The 1976 publication of Choose Life: A Dialogue (in Japanese, Nijusseiki e no taiwa) is the published record of dialogues and correspondences that began in 1971 between Ikeda and British historian ] about the “convergence of East and West”<ref>McNeill, William H. 1989. Arnold J. Toynbee: A Life. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. p273. ISBN 0195058631</ref> on contemporary as well as perennial topics ranging from the human condition to the role of religion and the future of human civilization. Toynbee’s 12-volume ] had been translated into Japanese, which along with his lecture tours and periodical articles about social, moral and religious issues gained him popularity in Japan. To an ] letter critical of Toynbee’s association with Ikeda and Soka Gakkai, Toynbee wrote back: “I agree with Soka Gakkai on religion as the most important thing in human life, and on opposition to militarism and war."<ref>Qtd. in McNeill 1989, pp272-273.</ref> To another letter critical of Ikeda, Toynbee responded: “Mr. Ikeda’s personality is strong and dynamic and such characters are often controversial. My own feeling for Mr. Ikeda is one of great respect and sympathy.”<ref>Qtd. in McNeill 1989, p273.</ref> British journalist and political commentator ], an avowed ], was invited to meet Ikeda in 1984 in memory of her grandfather. (According to Peter Popham, writing about Tokyo architecture and culture, Ikeda "was hoping to tighten the public connection between himself and Polly Toynbee's famous grandfather, Arnold Toynbee, the prophet of the rise of the East."<ref>Peter Popham, ''Tokyo: The City at the End of the World'' (Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1985; ISBN 4-7700-1226-8), p. 64.</ref>) Polly Toynbee described Ikeda as "a short, round man with slicked down hair, wearing a sharp Western suit"; they talked from "throne-like" chairs in "an enormous room" reached via "corridors of bowing girls dressed in white".<ref>Polly Toynbee, "Soka Gakkai and the Toynbee 'Endorsement'", ''Daily Yomiuri'', May 27, 1984; quoted in Popham, ''Tokyo'', p.64.</ref>{{relevance-inline|sentence|date=September 2014}} She wrote "I have met many powerful men--prime ministers, leaders of all kinds--but I have never in my life met anyone who exudes such an aura of absolute power as Mr. Ikeda."<ref>Toynbee, "Soka Gakkai and the Toynbee 'Endorsement'"; quoted in Popham, ''Tokyo'', p.65.</ref> In '']'' on May 19, 1984, she also voiced the wish that her grandfather would not have endorsed their dialogue, ''Choose Life: A Dialogue''. She wrote, "I telephoned a few people round the world who had been visited by Ikeda. There was a certain amount of discomfort at being asked, and an admission by several that they felt they had been drawn into endorsing him."<ref name="grandfather">{{cite web|url=http://www.toride.org/edata/toynbee.html |title=The Value of a Grandfather Figur |publisher=Toride.org |date=1984-05-19 |accessdate=2013-11-07}}</ref>{{better source|reason= website not official archive of The Guardian|date=September 2014}}{{copyvio link}} As of 2012, the book had been translated and published in twenty-six languages.<ref>Goulah, Jason and Takao Ito. “Daisaku Ikeda’s Curriculum of Soka Education: Creating Value Through Dialogue, Global Citizenship, and ‘Human Education’ in the Mentor-Disciple Relationship.” Curriculum Inquiry 42:1 (2012). p65. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2011.00572.x</ref>
			===Main books===
	Ikeda's many children's books have been animated into ].<ref>, ''The Hindu''</ref>
			Ikeda's most well-known publication is the novel ], which is an autobiography in 30 volumes, but with great freedoms in relation to the facts.
	<ref></ref>
			In their 1984 book ''Before It Is Too Late'', Ikeda and ] discuss the human link in the ecological consequences of industrialization, calling for a reform in understanding human agency to effect harmonious relationships both between humans and with nature.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://human-wrongs-watch.net/2015/11/23/book-review-aurelio-peccei-and-daisako-ikeda-before-it-is-too-late/|title=Book Review: Aurelio Peccei and Daisaku Ikeda, "Before It Is Too Late"|last=Scales Avery|first=John|date=23 November 2015|website=Human Wrongs Watch|access-date=30 September 2020}}</ref>
	===''Human Revolution''===
	Ikeda's most well-known publication is the novel ''Human Revolution'' (''Ningen Kakumei''), which was serialized in the Gakkai's '']''. In 1978, as the Gakkai entered a dispute with Nichiren Shoshu, the text of ''Human Revolution'' was altered in over 40 places. However, these revisions were not mentioned in the book's publication history, and the Gakkai does not acknowledge that any changes have been made.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wajō|first1=Shichiri|title=Ikeda Daisaku gensō no yabō: shōsetsu "Ningen kakumei" hihan|date=1994|publisher=Shin Nihon Shuppansha|location=Tokyo|isbn=4406022309|pages=212–3|edition=Shohan.|quote=第四十七刷で四十余箇所にわたる改訂を行ってる。しかし奇異なことに、これだけの改訂を行いながら、第四十七刷は改訂版とされていない。・・・受付嬢は、こう断言した。「小説『人間革命』には改訂版はありません。定価が変わっているだけです。」}}</ref>
			In ''Life—An Enigma, a Precious Jewel'' (1982), ''Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death'' (1984), discussions of a Buddhist ] offer an alternative to ] and ] approaches to ].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Paterson|first=Barbara|date=February 2006|title=Ethics for Wildlife Conservation: Overcoming the Human–Nature Dualism|journal=]|volume=56|issue=2|pages=144–150|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2006)0562.0.co;2|doi-access=free}}</ref>
	===Selected works===
	{{columns-list|width=30em|
	*''A Dialogue Between East and West: Looking to a Human Revolution (Echoes and Reflections: The Selected Works of Daisaku Ikeda)'' with Ricardo Diez-Hochleitner, London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2008; ISBN 978-1845116002 (Hardback), ISBN 978-1845116002 (Paperback)
	*''A Lifelong Quest for Peace'' with ] (May 2000), Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1st edition, ISBN 978-0867202786 (Hardback), ISBN 0-86720-277-7 (Paperback); London and New York: I. B. Tauris, Reprint edition 2008; ISBN 978-1845118891
	*''A Passage to Peace: Global Solutions from East and West'' with ], London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2009; ISBN 9781845119225 (Hardback), ISBN 9781845119232 (Paperback)
	*''A Quest for Global Peace: Rotblat and Ikeda on War, Ethics, and the Nuclear Threat'' with ], London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2006; ISBN 978-1845112790
	*''A Youthful Diary: One Man's Journey from the Beginning of Faith to Worldwide Leadership for Peace'', Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 2006; ISBN 978-1932911190
	*''America Will Be!: Conversations on Hope, Freedom, and Democracy'', with ], Cambridge, Massachusetts: Dialogue Path Press, 2013; ISBN 978-1887917100
	*''Before It Is Too Late'' with ], (1985), Kodansha America, 1st edition, ISBN 978-0870117008; London and New York: I. B. Tauris Reprint edition, 2008; ISBN 978-1845118884
	*''Buddhism: A Way of Values" with ], New Delhi: Eternal Ganges Press, 2009; ISBN 978-81-907191-2-4
	*''Buddhism: the First Millennium'', (1977), Kodansha International, ISBN 9780870113215 (Hardback); Santa Monica, California: Middleway Press, Reprint edition, 2009; ISBN 978-0977924530
	*''Choose Hope: Your Role in Waging Peace in the Nuclear Age'' with David Krieger, Santa Monica, California: Middleway Press, 2002; ISBN 0-967-46976-7
	*''Choose Life: A Dialogue'' with ], Richard L. Gage (Editor), (1976), Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0192152589; London and New York: I. B. Tauris, Reprint edition, 2008; ISBN 978-1845115951
	*''Choose Peace: A Dialogue Between Johan Galtung and Daisaku Ikeda'' with ], London: Pluto Press, 1999; ISBN 978-0745310404
	*''Compassionate Light in Asia'' with ], London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2013; ISBN 978-1848851986
	*''Creating Waldens: An East-West Conversation on the American Renaissance with ] and ]'', Cambridge, Massachusetts: Dialogue Path Press, 2009; ISBN 978-1887917070
	*''Dawn After Dark'' with ], (1991), Weatherhill, ISBN 9780834802384; London and New York: I. B. Tauris, Reprint edition, 2008; ISBN 978-1845115968
	*''Dialogue of World Citizens'' with ], (tentative translation from Japanese), Sekai shimin no taiwa, 世界市民の対話, Paperback edition, Tokyo, Japan: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 2000; ISBN 978-4412010772
	*''Discussions on Youth'', Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 2010; ISBN 978-1-932911-93-0
	*''Embracing the Future'', Tokyo: The Japan Times, 2008; ISBN 978-4-7890-1316-1
	*''Fighting for Peace'', Berkeley, California: Creative Arts Book Company, 2004; ISBN 0-88739-618-6
	*''For the Sake of Peace: A Buddhist Perspective for the 21st Century'', Santa Monica, California: Middleway Press, 2001; ISBN 978-0967469720
	*''Glass Children and Other Essays'', Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1979; ISBN 0-87011-375-5
	*''Global Civilization: A Buddhist-Islamic Dialogue'' With Majid Tehranian, London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2008; ISBN 978-1860648106
	*''Human Rights on the 21st Century'' with ], London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2009; ISBN 978-1845119881
	*''Human Values in a Changing World: A Dialogue on the Social Role of Religion'', with ]. Reprint edition. London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2008; ISBN 978-1845115975
	*''Humanity at the Crossroads: An Intercultural Dialogue'' with ], New Delhi: Oxford University Press India, 1988; ISBN 978-0195622157
	*''Into Full Flower: Making Peace Cultures Happen'' with ], Cambridge, Massachusetts: Dialogue Path Press, 2010; ISBN 978-1887917087
	*''Journey of Life: Selected Poems of Daisaku Ikeda'', London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2014; ISBN 9781780769691
	*''Kanta and the Deer'' (children's book), New York: Weatherhill, 1997; ISBN 978-0834804067
	*'La fuerza de la Esperanza; Reflexiones sobre la paz y los derechos humanos en el tercer milenio' (dialogue between Argentine Nobel Peace laureate Dr. ] and Daisaku Ikeda), Buenos Aires: Emecé Editores,2011; ISBN 9789500434126
	}}
	*''Life: An Enigma, a Precious Jewel'', 1st edition, New York: Kodansha America, 1982; ISBN 978-0870114335
	*''Moral Lessons of the Twentieth Century: Gorbachev and Ikeda on Buddhism and Communism'' with ], London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2005; ISBN 9781845117733
	*''My Recollections'', Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 1980; ISBN 978-0915678105
	*''New Horizons in Eastern Humanism Buddhism, Confucianism and the Quest for Global Peace'' with ], London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2011; ISBN 978-1-84885-593-9
	*'' Ode to the Grand Spirit: A dialogue Ode to the Grand Spirit: A Dialogue (Echoes and Reflections)" — with ], London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2009; ISBN 978-1-84511-987-4
	*''On Being Human: Where Ethics, Medicine, and Spirituality Converge with René Simard and Guy Bourgeault'', Santa Monica, California: Middleway Press, 2003; ISBN 0-9723267-1-5
	*''On Peace, Life and Philosophy with ] (tentative translation from Japanese), Heiwa to jinsei to tetsugaku o kataru,「平和」と「人生」と「哲学」を語る'', Tokyo, Japan: Ushio Shuppansha, 1987; ISBN 978-4267011641
	*''One by One: The World is Yours to Change'', Sonoma, California: Dunhill Publishing; Paper/DVD edition, 2004; ISBN 978-1931501019
	*''Over the Deep Blue Sea'' (children's book), ] (Illustrator), New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993, ISBN 978-0679841845
	*''Planetary Citizenship: Your Values, Beliefs and Actions Can Shape A Sustainable World'' with ], Santa Monica, California: Middleway Press, 2004; ISBN 0972326723/ISBN 978-0972326728
	*''Rendezvous with nature: songs of peace / photographs by Daisaku Ikeda'', Shizen to no taiwa: heiwa no shi, 自然との対話 平和の詩, Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 2005; OCLC Number: 73228297
	*''Revolutions to Green the Environment, to Grow the Human Heart: A Dialogue Between ], Leader of the Ever-Green Revolution and Daisaku Ikeda, Proponent of the Human Revolution'', Madras, India: East West Books, 2005; ISBN 978-8188661343
	*''Search for a New Humanity: A Dialogue'' with Josef Derbolav, London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2008; ISBN 978-1-84511-598-2
	*''Soka Education: A Buddhist Vision for Teachers, Students and Parents'', Santa Monica, California: Middleway Press, 2001; ISBN 0-9674697-4-0
	*''Songs from My Heart'', (1978), Weatherhill, ISBN 0-8348-0398-4, New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill, Reprint edition 1997; ISBN 0-8348-0398-4
	*''Space and Eternal Life'' with ], Newburyport, Massachusetts: Journeyman Press, 1998; ISBN 1-85172-060-X
	*''The Cherry Tree'' (children's book), ] (Illustrator), New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1992; ISBN 978-0679826699
	*''The Flower of Chinese Buddhism'', Santa Monica, California: Middleway Press, 2009; ISBN 978-0977924547
	*''The Human Revolution'' (The Human Revolution, #1-12), abridged two-book set, Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 2008; ISBN 0-915678-77-2
	*''The Inner Philosopher: Conversations on Philosophy’s Transformative Power with ], Cambridge, Massachusetts: Dialogue Path Press, 2012; ISBN 978-1887917094
	*''The Living Buddha: An Interpretive Biography'', Santa Monica, California: Middleway Press, 2008; ISBN 978-0977924523
	*''The New Human Revolution (an ongoing series)'' (30+ Volumes, ''this is an ongoing series''), Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 1995-; partial list of ISBN Vol.1 978-0-915678-33-4, Vol.2 978-0-915678-34-1, Vol.3 978-0-915678-35-8, Vol.4 978-0-915678-36-5, Vol.5 978-0-915678-37-2, Vol.6 978-0-915678-38-9, Vol.7 978-0-915678-39-6, Vol.8 978-0-915678-40-2, Vol.9 978-0-915678-41-9, Vol.10 978-0-915678-42-6, Vol.11 978-0-915678-43-3, Vol.12 978-0-915678-44-0, Vol.13 978-0-915678-45-7, Vol.14 978-0-915678-46-4, Vol.15 978-0-915678-47-1, Vol.16 978-0-915678-48-8, Vol.17 978-0-915678-49-5, Vol.18 978-0-915678-50-1, Vol.19 978-0-915678-51-8, Vol.20 978-0-915678-52-5, Vol.21 978-0-915678-53-2, Vol.22 978-0-915678-54-9, Vol.23 978-0-915678-55-6, Vol.24 978-0-915678-56-3
	*''The Persistence of Religion: Comparative Perspectives on Modern Spirituality'' with ], London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2009; ISBN 9781848851955 (Paperback), ISBN 9781848851948 (Hardback)
	*''The Princess and the Moon'' (children's book), ] (Illustrator), New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1992; ISBN 978-0679836209
	*''The Snow Country Prince'' (children's book), ] (Illustrator), New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1991; ISBN 978-0679919650
	*''The Way of Youth: Buddhist Common Sense for Handling Life's Questions'' (with a ] by ]), Santa Monica, California: Middleway Press, 2000, ISBN 9780967469706
	*''The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra'' (6 volumes), Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 2000 (vols 1 & 2), 2001 (vol 3), 2002 (vol 4), 2003 (vols 5 & 6); ISBN 0-915678-69-1 (vol 1), 0-915678-70-5 (vol 2), 0-9-15678-71-3 (vol 3), 0-915678-72-1 (vol 4), 0-915678-73-X (vol 5), 0-915678-74-8 (vol 6)
	*''Toward Creating an Age of Humanism'' with ]　(tentative translation from Japanese), Ningenshugi no dai seiki o, 人間主義の大世紀を―わが人生を飾れ, Tokyo, Japan: Ushio Shuppansha, 2005; ISBN 978-4267017308
	*''Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death: A Buddhist View of Life'', 2nd edition, Santa Monica, California: Middleway Press, 2004; ISBN 978-0972326704
			The sixteen conversations between ] and Ikeda in their book ''The Inner Philosopher'' (2012) introduce classic Eastern and Western philosophers.
	==Notes==
	<references group="n" />
			===Column in the Japan Times===
	==References==
			In 2003, Japan's largest English-language newspaper, '']'', began carrying Ikeda's contributed commentaries on global issues.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/author/int-daisaku_ikeda/ | title= Author Daisaku Ikeda | newspaper = The Japan Times | access-date = 29 October 2015}}</ref> By 2015, ''The Japan Times'' had published 26 of them. But the column raised criticism among the Japan Times' journalists, who protested their disagreement with Ikeda's writing in 2006.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2006-07-02 |title=Japan Times infighting erupts over "Daisaku Ikeda column" |url=http://blog.livedoor.jp/catnewsagency/archives/21319893.html |access-date=January 7, 2025 |work=Cat News Agency}}</ref>
	{{Reflist|2}}
			===Selected works by Ikeda===
	==Further reading==
			{{div col|colwidth=40em}}
	* Seager, Richard: ''Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Sōka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhism''. University of California Press, 2006.
			*''Choose Life: A Dialogue'' with ], Richard L. Gage (Editor), (1976), Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-215258-9}}; London and New York: I. B. Tauris, Reprint edition, 2008; {{ISBN|978-1-84511-595-1}}
	==External links==
			*''On Peace, Life and Philosophy with ] (tentative translation from Japanese), Heiwa to jinsei to tetsugaku o kataru,「平和」と「人生」と「哲学」を語る'', Tokyo, Japan: Ushio Shuppansha, 1987; {{ISBN|978-4-267-01164-1}}
	{{Wikiquote}}
			*''Humanity at the Crossroads: An Intercultural Dialogue'' with ], New Delhi: Oxford University Press India, 1988; {{ISBN|978-0-19-562215-7}}
	*
			*''Dawn After Dark'' with ], (1991), Weatherhill, {{ISBN|978-0-8348-0238-4}}; London and New York: I. B. Tauris, Reprint edition, 2008; {{ISBN|978-1-84511-596-8}}
	*
			*''The New Human Revolution (an ongoing series)'' (30+ Volumes, ''this is an ongoing series''), Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 1995–;
	*
			*''Dialogue of World Citizens'' with ], (tentative translation from Japanese), Sekai shimin no taiwa, 世界市民の対話, Paperback edition, Tokyo, Japan: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 2000; {{ISBN|978-4-412-01077-2}}
	*
			*''Dialogue for a Greater Century of Humanism'' with ] (in Japanese: 人間主義の大世紀を―わが人生を飾れ) Tokyo, Japan: Ushio Shuppansha, 2005; {{ISBN|978-4-267-01730-8}}
			*''Moral Lessons of the Twentieth Century: Gorbachev and Ikeda on Buddhism and Communism'' with ], London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2005; {{ISBN|978-1-84511-773-3}}
			*''The Human Revolution'' (The Human Revolution, #1–12), abridged two-book set, Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 2008; {{ISBN|0-915678-77-2}}
			*''A Dialogue Between East and West: Looking to a Human Revolution'' with ], Echoes and Reflections: The Selected Works of Daisaku Ikeda series, London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2008
			*''The Inner Philosopher: Conversations on Philosophy's Transformative Power with ]'', Cambridge, Massachusetts: Dialogue Path Press, 2012; {{ISBN|978-1-887917-09-4}}
			{{div col end}}
			*''America Will Be!: Conversations on Hope, Freedom, and Democracy'', with ], Cambridge, Massachusetts: Dialogue Path Press, 2013; {{ISBN|978-1-887917-10-0}}
			==References==
	{{Modern Buddhist writers}}
			{{reflist|30em}}
			==External links==
	{{Authority control|VIAF=41841688}}
			* – Official Daisaku Ikeda website
			* – Full text of selected lectures by Soka University Founder
			{{S-start}}
			{{s-rel|bu}}
			{{Succession box| before=]| title= 3rd President of ] | after=Hiroshi Hōjō (]) | years=3 May 1960 – 24 April 1979}}
			{{S-end}}
			{{Authority control}}
	{{Persondata
	| NAME = Ikeda, Daisaku
	| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
	| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Japanese writer
	| DATE OF BIRTH = January 2, 1928
	| PLACE OF BIRTH = Ōta, Tokyo, Japan
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	{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikeda, Daisaku}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikeda, Daisaku}}
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Not to be confused with Daisuke Ikeda.

This article is an autobiography or has been extensively edited by the subject or by someone connected to the subject. It may need editing to conform to Misplaced Pages's neutral point of view policy. There may be relevant discussion on the talk page. (March 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Japanese buddhist leader (1928–2023)

Daisaku Ikeda
Ikeda in 2010
President of Soka Gakkai International
In office 26 January 1975 – 15 November 2023
Honorary President of Soka Gakkai
In office 24 April 1979 – 15 November 2023
3rd President of Soka Gakkai
In office 3 May 1960 – 24 April 1979
Preceded by	Jōsei Toda Tsunesaburō Makiguchi
Succeeded by	Hiroshi Hōjō (北条浩) Einosuke Akiya Minoru Harada
Personal details
Born	(1928-01-02)2 January 1928 Ōta, Tokyo, Japan
Died	15 November 2023(2023-11-15) (aged 95) Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Spouse	Kaneko Ikeda (池田香峯子)
Children	3 (1 deceased)
Parents	Ichi Ikeda (mother) Nenokichi Ikeda (father)
Residence(s)	Japan, Tokyo, Shinjuku-Ku, Shinanomachi (信濃町)
Alma mater	Fuji Junior College (present-day Tokyo Fuji University)
Website	daisakuikeda.org

Daisaku Ikeda (池田 大作, Ikeda Daisaku, 2 January 1928 – 15 November 2023) was a Japanese Buddhist leader, author, educator and nuclear disarmament advocate. He served as the third president and then honorary president of the Soka Gakkai, which is considered among the largest of Japan's new religious movements.

Ikeda was the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International. Although a claimed Japanese membership of 8.27 million households, recent research and surveys suggest that between 2.5 million and 4 million people - approximately two to three percent of the Japanese population - are active members of Soka Gakkai, and the organization claims to have approximately 11 million practitioners in 192 countries and territories, more than 1.5 million of whom reside outside of Japan as of 2012.

Ikeda was the founder of a variety of educational and cultural institutions including Soka University, Soka University of America, Min-On Concert Association and Tokyo Fuji Art Museum. In Japan, he was also known for his international outreach to China.

Ikeda has been described as controversial over the decades due to the ambivalent reputation of the Soka Gakkai and his relation to the political party Kōmeitō, which he founded. He has been the subject of numerous articles, questions and accusations in Japanese and international media.At his death, scholars and journalists described Ikeda as among the most polarizing and important figures in modern Japanese religion and politics.

Early life and background

Ikeda Daisaku was born in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, on 2 January 1928. Ikeda had four older brothers, two younger brothers, and a younger sister. His parents later adopted two more children, for a total of 10 children. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Ikeda family had successfully farmed nori, edible seaweed, in Tokyo Bay. By the turn of the twentieth century, the Ikeda family business was the largest producer of nori in Tokyo. The devastation of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake left the family's enterprise in ruins. Ikeda's eldest brother, Kiichi, died in the Imphal Campaign in Burma, in January 1945, during the last stages of World War II. Ikeda also suffered from tuberculosis in his younger days.

In August 1947, at the age of 19, Ikeda was invited by an old friend to attend a Buddhist discussion meeting. It was there that he met Josei Toda, the second president of Japan's Soka Gakkai Buddhist organization. Ikeda began practicing Nichiren Buddhism and joined the Soka Gakkai. He regarded Toda as his spiritual mentor and became a charter member of the group's youth division.

Career

Shortly after the end of World War II, in January 1946, Ikeda gained employment with the Shobundo Printing Company in Tokyo. In March 1948, Ikeda graduated from Toyo Trade School and the following month entered the night school extension of Taisei Gakuin (present-day Tokyo Fuji University) where he majored in political science. During this time, he worked as an editor of the children's magazine Shonen Nihon (Boy's Life Japan), which was published by one of Josei Toda's companies.

In 1953, at the age of 25, Ikeda was appointed as one of the Soka Gakkai's youth leaders. The following year, he was appointed as director of the Soka Gakkai's public relations bureau, and later became its chief of staff.

Soka Gakkai presidency

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In May 1960, two years after Toda's death, Ikeda, then 32 years old, succeeded him as president of the Soka Gakkai. Later that year, Ikeda began to travel overseas to build connections between Soka Gakkai members living abroad and expand the movement globally.

As a president, Ikeda continued fusing the ideas and principles of educational pragmatism with the elements of Buddhist doctrine. He reformed many of the organization's practices, including the aggressive conversion style known as shakubuku, for which the group had been criticized in Japan and in other countries. The organization "had provoked public opprobrium because of its aggressive recruitment policies and its strongly developed political base."

In 1979, Ikeda resigned as president of the Soka Gakkai (in Japan), in compliance with the demands of the Nichiren Shōshū priesthood . Hiroshi Hōjō succeeded Ikeda as Soka Gakkai president, and Ikeda was made honorary president.

Ikeda continued to be revered as the Soka Gakkai's spiritual leader, according to Asian studies associate professor Daniel Métraux. Métraux in 1994 wrote that "adulation of Ikeda in the Gakkai press gives some non-member readers the impression that the Gakkai is little more than an Ikeda personality cult". One reason for the excommunication of Soka Gakkai by Nichiren Shōshū in 1991 was, according to the "Nichiren Shoshu" entry in The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, "Nichiren Shōshū accusing Sōka Gakkai of forming a personality cult around their leader Ikeda" and "Soka Gakkai accusing the Nichiren Shoshu leader Abe Nikken of trying to dominate both organizations." Sociologist of religion Peter Beyer in 2006 summarizes an understanding in the context of contemporary global society: "Until the 1990s, Soka Gakkai still was related formally to the monastic organization, Nichiren Shoshu, but conflicts over authority led to their separation (Métraux 1994)."

Soka Gakkai International founding

Further information: Soka Gakkai International

By the 1970s, Ikeda's leadership had expanded the Soka Gakkai into an international lay Buddhist movement increasingly active in peace, cultural, and educational activities. On 26 January 1975, Soka Gakkai representatives from 51 countries created the Soka Gakkai International. Ikeda took a leading role in the global organization's development and became the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International.

Critics and controversies

Reputation

Ikeda has elicited a variety of assessments from scholars and journalists. According to Asian studies professor Daniel Métraux in 1994, Ikeda is "possibly one of the more controversial figures in Japan's modern history".

In 1996, the Los Angeles Times described Ikeda as "the most powerful man in Japan - and certainly one of the most enigmatic", "condemned and praised as a devil and an angel, a despot and a democrat".

In 1984, Polly Toynbee, grand-daughter of British historian Arnold Toynbee, whose conversations with Ikeda were published, was invited by Ikeda to meet him in Japan. Following her visit, she wrote a critical article for The Guardian on meeting the leader. She writes:

"On the long flight to Japan, I read for the first time my grandfather's posthumously, published book, "Choose Life -- A Dialogue".. . . My grandfather was 85 when the dialogue was recorded, a short time before his final incapacitating stroke (...) My grandfather never met Ikeda on his visits to Japan. His old Japanese friends were clearly less than delighted with lkeda's grandiose appropriation of his memories. Several days passed before we were to meet our mysterious host, time in which we learned more about Mr Ikeda and his Soka Gakkai movement. One thing above allo others was made clear: this was an organisation of immense wealth, power and political influence (...) Asked to hazard a guess at his occupation, few would have selected him as a religious figure. I have met many powerful men—prime ministers, leaders of all kinds—but I have never in my life met anyone who exuded such an aura of absolute power as Mr Ikeda".

Religion and politics

In the history of institutional relations between the religious movement Soka Gakkai and the political party Kōmeitō founded in 1964 by Ikeda as an outgrowth from Soka Gakkai, he has faced "unabated criticism against the alleged violation of the separation of religion and state" and been accused of "far-reaching political ambitions." Associate professor of government George Ehrhardt and co-authors write that "Sōka Gakkai's entrance into the political arena permanently transformed the relationship between religion and politics in Japan by dividing those who opposed the creation of a religious political party from those who accepted it."

In 2015, addressing the "party's understudied history," political scientist Steven Reed and his co-authors write that "the image of Kōmeitō as a mere political branch of Sōka Gakkai is clearly mistaken" and that "the separation between party and religious group announced by Ikeda Daisaku in 1970 made a real difference." He also states that "sōka gakkai meetings are used to introduce Kōmeitō candidates and to advertise the party, particularly during the period leading up the election."

About "the changing role of the Komeito in Japanese politics in the 1990s", Daniel Métraux states that: "While it is difficult to determine his exact role, an examination of his daily itinerary would reveal that he would have very little time personally for political management and that most of the aging leader's time is devoted to religious affairs, traveling, and writing. Ikeda may well have influenced the Komeito in a macrosense, but in a microsense he is clearly not involved. The Komeito and its successes have a life of their own; they are certainly not lifeless puppets ready to react to Ikeda's or to the Soka Gakkai's every whim."

A lot of newspapers and scholars have proven though that, despite the formal separation, there are still "strong links" and that the Komeito has remained to some extent the "political arm" of Soka Gakkai.

Censorship

In 1970, there was a freedom of speech controversy about the intent to prevent the publication of Hirotatsu Fujiwara's polemical book, I denounce Soka Gakkai, that vehemently criticized Ikeda, Soka Gakkai and the Komeito. In his 3 May 1970 speech, addressing, among others, Soka Gakkai members, guests and news media, Ikeda responded to the controversy by: apologizing to the nation "for the trouble...the incident caused," affirming the Soka Gakkai's commitment to free speech and religious freedom, announcing a new policy of formal separation between the Soka Gakkai religious movement and Komeito, calling for both moderation in religious conversion practices and democratizing reforms in the Soka Gakkai, and envisioning a Buddhist-inspired humanism.

In October 1982, Ikeda had to appear in court concerning three cases.

Philosophy and beliefs

Ikeda's relationship with his mentor, Jōsei Toda, and influence of Tsunesaburō Makiguchi's educational philosophy, shaped his emphasis on dialogue and education as fundamental to building trust between people and peace in society. He interprets the Middle Way as a path between idealism and materialism.

Ikeda's use of the term ōbutsu myōgō in his 1964 book Seiji shūkyō (Politics and Religion) has been interpreted to mean "politics by people, with mercy and altruism as a Buddhist philosophy, different from the union of politics and religion (seikyo icchi)." The term is also used by Ikeda in the Komeito's founding statement. In the 1969 edition of Seiji shūkyō, "he declared that obutsu myogo would not be an act of Soka Gakkai imposing its will on the Japanese state to install Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism as the national creed," and that "Soka Gakkai, through Komeito, would instead guide Japan to a new, democratic world order, a 'Buddhist democracy' (buppo minshu shugi) combining the Dharma with the best of the Euro-American philosophical tradition to focus on social welfare and humanistic socialism." Another interpretation of his views at that time was that "Buddhist democracy" could be achieved by a "religious revolution" through kōsen-rufu on the premise of achieving "social prosperity in accordance with individual happiness" for the entire society. In 1970, after Ikeda announced the severing of official ties between the Soka Gakkai and Komeito, the use of "politically charged terms such as obutsu myogo" was eliminated.

Ikeda refers in several writings to the Nine Consciousness as an important conception for self-transformation, identifying the ninth one, "amala-vijñāna", with the Buddha-nature. According to him, the "transformation of the karma of one individual" can lead to the transformation of the entire society and humankind.

Accomplishments

Institutional engagement

Further information: Soka School System

Ikeda founded a number of institutions to promote education, cultural exchange and the exchange of ideas on peacebuilding through dialogue. They include: Soka University in Tokyo, Japan, and Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, California; the Victor Hugo House of Literature, in France; the International Committee of Artists for Peace in the United States; the Min-On Concert Association in Japan...

From 1990, Ikeda partnered with Rabbi Abraham Cooper and the Simon Wiesenthal Center to address anti-Semitic stereotypes in Japan. {{Citation needed}}

Peace proposals

Since 26 January 1983, Ikeda had submitted annual peace proposals to the United Nations, addressing such areas as building a culture of peace, gender equality in education, empowerment of women, youth empowerment and activism for peace, UN reform and universal human rights with a view on global civilization.

Ikeda's proposals for nuclear disarmament and abolishing nuclear weapons were submitted to the special session of the UN General Assembly in 1978, 1982 and 1988. {{Citation needed}}

Citizen diplomacy

Ikeda has described his travels, meetings and dialogues as citizen diplomacy. Researchers linked to Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai have suggested the body of literature chronicling Ikeda's diplomatic efforts and his international dialogues provide readers with a personalized global education and model of citizen diplomacy.

First in 1967 then several times in 1970, Ikeda met with Austrian-Japanese politician and philosopher Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, founder of the Paneuropean Movement. Their discussions which focused on east–west relations and the future of peace work were serialized in the Sankei Shimbun newspaper in 1971. In 1974, Ikeda conducted a dialogue with French novelist and then former Minister of Cultural Affairs Andre Malraux.

In January 1975, Ikeda met with Henry Kissinger, then United States Secretary of State, to "urge the de-escalation of nuclear tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union." The same month Ikeda met with Secretary-General of the United Nations Kurt Waldheim. Ikeda presented Waldheim with a petition containing the signatures of 10,000,000 people calling for total nuclear abolition. The petition was organized by youth groups of the Soka Gakkai International and was inspired by Ikeda's longtime anti-nuclear efforts.

Ikeda's meetings with Nelson Mandela in the 1990s led to a series of Soka Gakkai International-sponsored anti-apartheid lectures, a traveling exhibit, and multiple student exchange programs at the university level. Their October 1990 meeting in Tokyo led to collaboration with the African National Congress and the United Nations Apartheid Center on an anti-apartheid exhibit inaugurated in Yokohama, Japan "on the 15th anniversary of the Soweto uprisings (16 June 1976)."

Sino-Japanese relations

Ikeda made several visits to China and met with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1974, though Sino-Japanese tensions remained over the brutalities of war waged by the Japanese militarists. The visits led to the establishment of cultural exchanges, and opened academic exchanges between Chinese educational institutions and Soka University. Chinese media describe Ikeda as an early proponent of normalizing diplomatic relations between China and Japan in the 1970s, citing his 1968 proposal that drew condemnation by some and the interest of others including Zhou Enlai. It was said that Zhou Enlai entrusted Ikeda with ensuring that "Sino-Japanese friendship would continue for generations to come."

Accolades

Further information: List of awards and honours received by Daisaku Ikeda

Personal life

Ikeda lived in Tokyo with his wife, Kaneko Ikeda (née Kaneko Shiraki), whom he married on 3 May 1952. The couple had three sons, Hiromasa, Shirohisa (died 1984), and Takahiro.

Hiromasa Ikeda is the executive vice-president of the Soka Gakkai International and trustee of the Soka University in Japan.

Takahiro Ikeda is director of the Soka School System, the educational corporation of the Sôka Gakkai.

Daisaku Ikeda died on 15 November 2023, at the age of 95. His death was publicly announced on 18 November.

Books

Dialogue with Toynbee

The 1976 publication of Choose Life: A Dialogue (in Japanese, Nijusseiki e no taiga) is the published record of dialogues and correspondences that began in 1971 between Ikeda and British historian Arnold J. Toynbee about the "convergence of East and West" on contemporary as well as perennial topics ranging from the human condition to the role of religion and the future of human civilization. As of 2012, the book had been translated and published in twenty-six languages.

But Toynbee being "paid well" for the interviews with Ikeda raised criticism : "he accepted the dialogue with the controversial Ikeda primarily for the money", according to historian Louis Turner. To an expat's letter critical of Toynbee's association with Ikeda and Soka Gakkai, Toynbee wrote back: "I agree with Soka Gakkai on religion as the most important thing in human life, and on opposition to militarism and war."

Main books

Ikeda's most well-known publication is the novel The Human Revolution, which is an autobiography in 30 volumes, but with great freedoms in relation to the facts.

In their 1984 book Before It Is Too Late, Ikeda and Aurelio Peccei discuss the human link in the ecological consequences of industrialization, calling for a reform in understanding human agency to effect harmonious relationships both between humans and with nature.

In Life—An Enigma, a Precious Jewel (1982), Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death (1984), discussions of a Buddhist ontology offer an alternative to anthropocentric and biocentric approaches to wildlife conservation.

The sixteen conversations between Lou Marinoff and Ikeda in their book The Inner Philosopher (2012) introduce classic Eastern and Western philosophers.

Column in the Japan Times

In 2003, Japan's largest English-language newspaper, The Japan Times, began carrying Ikeda's contributed commentaries on global issues. By 2015, The Japan Times had published 26 of them. But the column raised criticism among the Japan Times' journalists, who protested their disagreement with Ikeda's writing in 2006.

Selected works by Ikeda

• Choose Life: A Dialogue with Arnold J. Toynbee, Richard L. Gage (Editor), (1976), Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-215258-9; London and New York: I. B. Tauris, Reprint edition, 2008; ISBN 978-1-84511-595-1
• On Peace, Life and Philosophy with Henry Kissinger (tentative translation from Japanese), Heiwa to jinsei to tetsugaku o kataru,「平和」と「人生」と「哲学」を語る, Tokyo, Japan: Ushio Shuppansha, 1987; ISBN 978-4-267-01164-1
• Humanity at the Crossroads: An Intercultural Dialogue with Karan Singh, New Delhi: Oxford University Press India, 1988; ISBN 978-0-19-562215-7
• Dawn After Dark with René Huyghe, (1991), Weatherhill, ISBN 978-0-8348-0238-4; London and New York: I. B. Tauris, Reprint edition, 2008; ISBN 978-1-84511-596-8
• The New Human Revolution (an ongoing series) (30+ Volumes, this is an ongoing series), Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 1995–;
• Dialogue of World Citizens with Norman Cousins, (tentative translation from Japanese), Sekai shimin no taiwa, 世界市民の対話, Paperback edition, Tokyo, Japan: Seikyo Shimbunsha, 2000; ISBN 978-4-412-01077-2
• Dialogue for a Greater Century of Humanism with John Kenneth Galbraith (in Japanese: 人間主義の大世紀を―わが人生を飾れ) Tokyo, Japan: Ushio Shuppansha, 2005; ISBN 978-4-267-01730-8
• Moral Lessons of the Twentieth Century: Gorbachev and Ikeda on Buddhism and Communism with Mikhail Gorbachev, London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2005; ISBN 978-1-84511-773-3
• The Human Revolution (The Human Revolution, #1–12), abridged two-book set, Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 2008; ISBN 0-915678-77-2
• A Dialogue Between East and West: Looking to a Human Revolution with Ricardo Díez Hochleitner, Echoes and Reflections: The Selected Works of Daisaku Ikeda series, London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2008
• The Inner Philosopher: Conversations on Philosophy's Transformative Power with Lou Marinoff, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Dialogue Path Press, 2012; ISBN 978-1-887917-09-4

• America Will Be!: Conversations on Hope, Freedom, and Democracy, with Vincent Harding, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Dialogue Path Press, 2013; ISBN 978-1-887917-10-0

References

1. "Daisaku Ikeda Profile". Soka University. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
2. Métraux, Daniel A. (2012). Soka Gakkai International: Japanese Buddhism on a Global Scale (DOC). Staunton, Virginia: Virginia Consortium of Asian Studies and the Virginia Review of Asian Studies.
3. Levi McLaughlin, Soka Gakkai's Human Revolution: The Rise of a Mimetic Nation in Modern Japan, University of Hawaii Press 2019: "Soka Gakkai has exceeded the capacity of other modern Japanese religious organizations to build institutions and attract adherents. Today, the group claims 8.27 million households in Japan and close to two million adherents in 192 countries under its overseas umbrella organization Soka Gakkai International, or SGI.1 These self-declared figures are exaggerated. Survey data point instead to a figure in the neighborhood of between 2 and 3 percent of the Japanese population, fewer than four million people, who most likely self- identify as committed Gakkai adherents. But even the most conservative estimates allow us to surmise that virtually everyone in Japan is acquainted with a member, related to a member, or is a member of Soka Gakkai." (p.3)
4. Clark Strand (Winter 2008). "Faith in Revolution". Tricycle. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
5. McLaughlin, Levi (2012). "Soka Gakkai in Japan". In Prohl, Inken; Nelson, John (eds.). Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Religions. Brill. pp. 269–308. ISBN 978-90-04-23436-9. Today, the group has a self-declared membership of 8.27 million households in Japan and more than 1.5 million adherents in 192 countries abroad under its overseas umbrella organization Soka Gakkai International. Recent scholarship challenges theses figures and points to a figure in the neighborhood of two percent of the Japanese population.
6. "University Founder". Soka University. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
7. Motoko Rich (29 November 2023). "Daisaku Ikeda, Who Led Influential Japanese Buddhist Group, Dies at 95". The New York Times. On another front, Mr. Ikeda asked that the party push Japan to recognize the People's Republic of China; the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1972. Two years later, Mr. Ikeda met with Zhou Enlai, then the premier of the People's Republic, at a hospital in Beijing, where Mr. Zhou was being treated for cancer.
8. French, Howard W. (14 November 1999). "A Sect's Political Rise Creates Uneasiness in Japan". New York Times. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
9. ^ Métraux, Daniel A (1994). The Soka Gakkai Revolution. University Press of America. ISBN 9780819197337. Ikeda, possibly one of the more controversial figures in Japan's modern history, is the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of contemporary Japanese society—how one sees him depends on one's vantage point.
10. "The Death of Ikeda Daisaku". Substack. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
11. "Memories of My Eldest Brother". daisakuikeda.org. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
12. Motoko Rich (29 November 2023). "Daisaku Ikeda, Who Led Influential Japanese Buddhist Group, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Daisaku Ikeda was born on Jan. 2, 1928, in Tokyo, the fifth son of Nenokichi and Ichi (Komiya) Ikeda, who were involved in seaweed farming. As a child, he was diagnosed with chronic tuberculosis.
13. ^ Timeline of Ikeda's life, daisakuikeda.org. Accessed 6 November 2013
14. ^ Seager, Richard Hughes (2006). Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0520245776. OL 3395144M.
15. Kisala, Robert (2000). Prophets of peace: Pacifism and cultural identity in Japan's new religions. Honolulu, HI, USA: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-2267-5.
16. Ronan Alves Pereira (2008). "The transplantation of Soka Gakkai to Brazil: building "the closest organization to the heart of Ikeda-Sensei"". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies.
17. Dayle Bethel (1974). "The Political Ideology of Ikeda Daisaku, President of Soka Gakkai". International Education. 3 (2).
18. Cherry, Stephen M.; Ebaugh, Helen Rose (22 April 2016). "Soka Gakkai International: Nichiren Japanese Buddhism (Daniel A. Metraux)". Global Religious Movements Across Borders: Sacred Service. Routledge. pp. 83–84. ISBN 978-1-317-12733-8. The huge growth and power of the Soka Gakkai has drawn harsh criticism over the years, especially in Japan because of its aggressive proselytization in its early years, its decision to play an active role in politics, and what critics call a personality cult around leader Ikeda Daisaku. Soka Gakkai's practice of shakubuku contributed to their rapid growth but alienated many in Japanese society who decried such confrontational methods.
19. Reader, Ian (2004). "Chapter 12: Consensus Shattered: Japanese Paradigm Shift and Moral Panic in the Post-Aum Era". In Lucas, Phillip Charles; Robbins, Thomas (eds.). New Religious Movements in the 21st Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective. Routledge. pp. 191–202. ISBN 978-1-135-88902-9. The movement was persecuted for its opposition to the wartime government's militarism but it is now the largest religious organization in Japan. Soka Gakkai, more than almost any other movement prior to Aum, had provoked public opprobrium because of its aggressive recruitment policies and its strongly developed political base. These developments had caused concern that Soka Gakkai might threaten the post-war constitutional separation of religion and state.
20. ^ Métraux, Daniel (March 1980). "Why Did Ikeda Quit?". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 7 (1): 55–61. doi:10.18874/jjrs.7.1.1980.55-61. Retrieved 4 June 2020. Ikeda quit because the Nichiren Shoshu saw him as an obvious threat to its existence. Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai had grown so big and powerful that it threatened to devour its parent. The Nichiren Shoshu priesthood felt that it was on the verge of being overwhelmed. It had to reassert its authority to make its presence felt, and Ikeda's resignation is the clear end-result of this drive.
21. Metraux, Daniel A. (1 November 1999). "Japan's Search for Political Stability: The LDP-New Komeito Alliance". Asian Survey. 39 (6): 926–939. doi:10.2307/3021146. ISSN 0004-4687. JSTOR 3021146. Although Ikeda formally resigned his position as president of the Soka Gakkai in 1979, he is still revered as the movement's spiritual leader and spokesman
22. Métraux, Daniel A (1994). The Soka Gakkai Revolution. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. ISBN 9780819197337. Every Soka Gakkai publication features of Ikeda and stories about his speeches, trips, and meetings. .... This adulation of Ikeda in the Gakkai press gives some non-member readers the impression that the Gakkai is little more than an Ikeda personality cult.
23. Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (24 November 2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 582. ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3.
24. Beyer, Peter (2006). Religions in Global Society. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 0-415-39318-3. OL 22728649M.
25. Queen, Christopher S.; Sallie B. King, eds. (1996). Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-2844-3.
26. "Japan's Crusader or Corrupter?". Los Angeles Times. 15 March 1996. He is, by some accounts, the most powerful man in Japan - and certainly one of the most enigmatic: Daisaku Ikeda, leader of the nation's largest religious organization, has been condemned and praised as a devil and an angel, a Hitler and a Gandhi, a despot and a democrat
27. Gebert, Andrew (30 September 2011). "Soka Gakkai". Oxford Bibliographies. doi:10.1093/obo/9780195393521-0053. The third president, Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928), took over leadership in 1960; the founder of an affiliated political party, the Komei Party, and numerous educational and cultural bodies, he has further overseen the Soka Gakkai's international expansion.
28. Urbain, Olivier (9 August 2013). Daisaku Ikeda and Dialogue for Peace. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-85772-455-7. Also, when Ikeda founded the Komeito Party in 1964, he suggested including in the Party's program the political issue of normalizing relations with China.
29. Klein, Axel; McLaughlin, Levi (January 2022). "Kōmeitō: The Party and Its Place in Japanese Politics". In Pekkanen, Robert J.; Pekkanen, Saadia M. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190050993.013.5. ISBN 9780190050993. The chapter then delves into the party's history, detailing its origins in 1964 as an outgrowth from Sōka Gakkai, an influential Japanese lay Buddhist organization.
30. Dehn, Ulrich (2011). "Chapter 5: Soka Gakkai". In Staemmler, Birgit; Dehn, Ulrich (eds.). Establishing the Revolutionary: An Introduction to New Religions in Japan. Lit Verlag. pp. 201–220. ISBN 978-3-643-90152-1. (p203:) ...Japan at that time under authoritarian military rule was in close cooperation with Shinto shrines and Shinto imperial ideology. ...n 1942 all households were ordered to display Shinto-ofuda (amulets) to keep away evil from their houses. Soka Gakkai refused to show the ofuda at the headquarters' entrance which caused the observation of Soka Gakkai's inner circle and led to the imprisonment of 22 leaders on 6 July 1943, on the charge of an offence against state security and blasphemy. Makiguchi had called the emperor a human being. The organization was disbanded by the government. In November 1944, Makiguchi died of undernourishment; following his death, most of the imprisoned Soka Gakkai leaders, except for Toda Josei and Yajima, withdrew their Soka Gakkai membership and were released.(p215:) In 1964, Soka Gakkai launched its political party Komeito after already in 1955 independent deputies had been elected through Soka Gakkai support into both houses of parliament. (p216:)There has been unabated criticism against the alleged violation of the separation of religion and state and the alleged ambitions of Soka Gakkai International president (and former Soka Gakkai president) Ikeda to gain supreme political power in the country.
31. Kisala, Robert (2004). "Soka Gakkai: Searching for the Mainstream". In Lewis, James R.; Petersen, Jesper Aagaard (eds.). Controversial New Religions (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 139–152. ISBN 978-0-19-515682-9. (p149:)Despite this lack of formal higher education, Ikeda has been prominent in international peace forums, addressing the United Nations General Assembly and keeping a high profile in his frequent exchanges with prominent statesmen and academics. In his numerous proposals on peace and disarmament, Ikeda makes continued reference to the ideal of universal disarmament and resolution of conflict through negotiation. Ikeda has been a controversial figure in Japan . His critics accuse him of far-reaching political ambitions, and the tabloid press has played up unsubstantiated reports of sexual and financial scandals. Prefiguring the split with Nichiren Shoshu in 1991, Ikeda resigned as president of Soka Gakkai in 1979, in an attempt to repair the already strained relationship with the Shoshu monks over his power and the personality cult built around him. His continuing paramount role within the group, as well as the cult surrounding his figure, is evident, however, in the treatment afforded him by the Seikyo Shimbun, Soka Gakkai's daily newspaper, where the front page is commonly devoted to reports on his activities.
32. Ehrhardt, George; Klein, Axel; McLaughlin, Levi; Reed, Steven R. (2015). "Chapter 1: Kōmeitō: The Most Understudied Party of Japanese Politics". In Ehrhardt, George; Klein, Axel; McLaughlin, Levi; Reed, Steven R. (eds.). Komeito: Politics and Religion in Japan. Institute of East AsianStudies. pp. 3–24. ISBN 978-1-55729-111-0.
33. Ehrhardt, George; Klein, Axel; Mclaughlin, Levi; Reed, Steven R (May 2015). "Chapter 11: Kōmeitō: Politics and Religion in Japan". In Ehrhardt, George; Klein, Axel; McLaughlin, Levi; Reed, Steven R (eds.). Kōmeitō: Politics and Religion in Japan. Institute of East Asian Studies. pp. 269–276. ISBN 978-1-55729-162-2. Like other parties originating from a religious organization, Kōmeitō grew increasingly independent and turned into a self-contained, self-interested party with a distinct agenda that is not always compatible with that of Sōka Gakkai. While many aspects of the relationship between the organizations are still unclear, the image of Kōmeitō as a mere political branch of Sōka Gakkai is clearly mistaken. Concerns regarding Kōmeitō's link to religion remain, yet our findings indicate clearly that the separation between party and religious group announced by Ikeda Daisaku in 1970 made a real difference. Kōmeitō has matured into an organization that, in terms of policy and institutional behavior, has shifted both its strategies and policies in a politically rational manner. In the 1970s, Kōmeitō cooperated with opposition parties. When these attempts failed, the party responded positively to LDP approaches, leading eventually to the coalition government in 1999. Finally, as we detailed in chapter 10, none of the dire predictions about what would happen if Kōmeitō ever gained power have come to pass. First, Kōmeitō in power has not proven a threat to democracy. ... Second, Kōmeitō in power has not threatened other religious groups or tried to get special privileges for Sōka Gakkai relative to other religious groups. Indeed, Kōmeitō has acted to protect the interests of religious groups in general. ... A major motivation for producing this volume was our conviction that Kōmeitō is one of the most understudied aspects of Japanese politics.
34. Métraux, Daniel (1999). "The Changing Role of the Komeito in Japanese Politics in the 1990s". Japan Studies Review. 3. University of North Florida: 41–60. (p43:) The actual role of Soka Gakkai's spiritual leader Ikeda Daisaku has been a matter of some controversy in Japanese politics for several decades. As the self-proclaimed founder and avid supporter of the Komeito, he potentially wields considerable influence in the political world. Some journalists and conservative politicians as former Komeito president Takeiri Yoshikatsu have claimed that Ikeda plays an active role in Komeito affairs.... (p44:) While it is difficult to determine his exact role, an examination of his daily itinerary would reveal that he would have very little time personally for political management and that most of the aging leader's time is devoted to religious affairs, traveling, and writing. Ikeda may well have influenced the Komeito in a macrosense, but in a microsense he is clearly not involved. The Komeito and its successes have a life of their own; they are certainly not lifeless puppets ready to react to Ikeda's or to the Soka Gakkai's every whim.
35. Darren F. McClurg (19 September 2019). Timothy J. Demy; Jeffrey M. Shaw (eds.). Religion and Contemporary Politics: A Global Encyclopedia [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 363. ISBN 978-1-4408-3933-7. As a result of the fallout from this attack on free speech, Soka Gakkai and Komeito were forced to separate, and both renounced their goal of converting the population to Nichiren Buddhism. Although weakened, strong links between the two remained, and Gakkai voters continue to supporter Komeito politicians. Ikeda stepped down from leadership of the organisation in 1979 but remains its honorary president and its spiritual leader to this day. The Economist called him "the most powerful man in Japanese politics" as late as 1999.
36. Porcu, Elisabetta (23 April 2014). "Religion and the State in Contemporary Japan". In Arnason, Johann P. (ed.). Religion and Politics: European and Global Perspectives. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 168–183. ISBN 978-0-7486-9174-6. The strong link between Soka Gakkai and Komeito (since 1998, Shin Komeito or New Komeito) however still remains and the support for candidates by the religious group continues. Such a situation is made possible because Article 20 does not deny the possibility of a religious organisation forming a political party, which is seen as an expression of religious freedom by those religious groups involved in politics
37. Obuchi, Keizo (1 July 1999). "Support, at a price". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 6 October 2020. He has been called the most powerful man in Japanese politics, yet he is not even a politician. Daisaku Ikeda is the spiritual leader of the Soka Gakkai, a lay Buddhist group that can muster nearly 7m votes—a tenth of Japan's voting population (and a fifth of those who turn out in most elections). The Soka Gakkai's political arm, the New Komeito, is the second-largest opposition party in the Diet (parliament) and is notably influential in the upper house. That is a measure of Mr Ikeda's power.
38. Corduan, Winfried (22 October 2012). Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World Religions (2nd ed.). InterVarsity Press. p. 479. ISBN 978-0-8308-3970-4. footnote 37: The Komeito severed its organizational ties to SG in 1970, but has nonetheless remained the political arm of Sokka Gakkai in Japan. The party has gone through several mergers and divisions with other parties, but is presently a separate party again, known as 'New Komeito' (see Dobbelaere, Soka Gakkai, pp. 60–73).
39. Tellis, Ashley J.; Wills, Michael (2007). Domestic Political Change and Grand Strategy. National Bureau of Asian Research. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-9713938-8-2. In addition to forging coalitions with and even absorbing different conservative mini-parties, the LDP has since 1999 developed a partnership with the Komeito, the political arm of the religious group Sokagakkai with a strong base in Japanese cities.
40. Hrebenar, Ronald J. (9 July 2019). The Japanese Party System: From One-party Rule To Coalition Government. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-30274-5.
41. Baffelli, Erica (5 February 2016). Media and New Religions in Japan. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-11783-2.
42. McLaughlin, Levi (2014). "Chapter 3: Electioneering as Religious Practice: A History of Soka Gakkai's Political Activities to 1970". In Ehrhardt, George; Klein, Axel; McLaughlin, Levi; Reed, Steven R (eds.). Komeito: Politics and Religion in Japan. Institute of East AsianStudies. pp. 51–82. ISBN 978-1-55729-111-0.
43. Hrebenar, Ronald J. (9 July 2019). The Japanese Party System: From One-party Rule To Coalition Government. Routledge. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-000-30274-5. October 1982 was an especially bad month for Soka Gakkai leader Ikeda Daisaku, who appeared in court three times to deny having affairs with Komeito Dietmembers, to testify the Yamazaki blackmail case, and to acknowledge that Soka Gakkai members had wiretapped the house of JCP leader Miyamoto Kenji.
44. Goulah, Jason (8 April 2016). Daisaku Ikeda, Language and Education. Routledge. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-1-134-91485-2.
45. Daisuke Akimoto, Sōka University Peace Research Institute (1 May 2012). "Kōmeitō in Japanese Politics". www.japanesestudies.org.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
46. Hardacre, Helen; George, Timothy S.; Komamura, Keigo; Seraphim, Franziska (2021). Japanese Constitutional Revisionism and Civic Activism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-7936-0905-2. Ikeda's use of ōbutsu myōgō in Komeito's founding statement reaffirmed Toda's goal, and members continued to be inspired by this millenarian aim as they worked for Komeito campaigns.
47. McLaughlin, Levi (2014). "Chapter 3: Electioneering as Religious Practice: A History of Soka Gakkai's Political Activities to 1970". In Ehrhardt, George; Klein, Axel; McLaughlin, Levi; Reed, Steven R (eds.). Komeito: Politics and Religion in Japan. Institute of East AsianStudies. pp. 51–82. ISBN 978-1-55729-111-0.
48. Baffelli, Erica (9 August 2011). "Chapter 8: 'The Gakkai is Faith; the Kōmeitō is Action': Soka Gakkai and 'Buddhist Politics'". In Starrs, Roy (ed.). Politics and Religion in Modern Japan: Red Sun, White Lotus. Springer. pp. 216–239. ISBN 978-0-230-33668-1.
49. McLaughlin, Levi (12 October 2015). "Komeito's Soka Gakkai Protesters and Supporters: Religious Motivations for Political Activism in Contemporary Japan". The Asia-Pacific Journal/Japan Focus. 13 (41): 1–31.
50. Braidotti, Rosi; Wong, Kin Yuen; Chan, Amy K. S. (14 March 2018). "Tony See, "Deleuze and Ikeda: Two Concepts of revolution"". Deleuze and the Humanities: East and West. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 45–58. ISBN 978-1-78660-601-3.
51. Chowdhury, Ambassador Anwaraul K (2014). "Foreword". In Urbain, Olivier (ed.). A Forum for Peace: Daisaku Ikeda's Proposals to the UN. I.B. Taurus. pp. xi–xiv. ISBN 978-1-78076-840-3.
52. Métraux, Daniel A. 1994. The Soka Gakkai Revolution. Lanham/New York/London: University Press of America ISBN 0-8191-9733-5
53. Seager 2006, p119.
54. Goulah, Jason. "Dialogic Practice in Education." In Urbain, Olivier. 2013. Daisaku Ikeda and Dialogue for Peace. London/New York: I.B. Tauris. p83. ISBN 978-1-78076-572-3
55. Teranashi, Hirotomo (2013). Urbain, Olivier (ed.). Daisaku Ikeda and Dialogue for Peace. I.B. Tauris. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-85773-413-6. However, his meetings with Count Coudenhove-Kalergi that took place in 1967 and 1970 were of a different nature. These meetings covered subjects such as a comparison of the cultures of East and West and discussions on the future direction the world ought to take. This may be considered Ikeda's first full-fledged exchange of views with the international intelligentsia.
56. Tozawa, Hidenori (2013). クーデンホーフ·カレルギーと創価学会 (Coudenhove-Kalergi and the Soka Gakkai) (in Japanese). Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi Forum (School of Law, Tohoku University). Retrieved 25 April 2019.
57. Andre Malraux and Daisaku Ikeda (2010). Ningen kakumei to ningen no joken (Changes Within: Human Revolution vs. Human Condition). Ushio Shuppansha Tokyo.
58. "No More Nukes". Tricycle. 3 February 2015. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
59. Nanda, Ved P. (2009). Krieger, David (ed.). The Challenge of Abolishing Nuclear Weapons. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4128-1517-8.
60. Ikeda, Daisaku (1987). "The Human Revolution: A Prerequisite for Lasting Peace". McGill Journal of Education. 22 (3): 246–257. Retrieved 20 January 2022. In 1972, I suggested the initiation of a youth movement to devent the sanctity of life, and its dignity. ... First, a campaign to collect signatures for petitions seeking the abolition of nuclear weapons and an end to war was carried out across Japan. Ten million signatures were collected; ten million people announced their wish for peace and a nuclear-free world. In 1975, I passed these petitions to Kurt Waldheim, then secretary-general of the United Nations.
61. ^ Seager 2006, p120.
62. Dessì, Ugo (2020). "Soka Gakkai International in Post-Apartheid South Africa". Religions. 11 (11): 598. doi:10.3390/rel11110598.
63. Zhou, Xiaofang (6 December 2014). "World Youth Symposium, Nankai University, Tianjin". Zhou Enlai Peace Institute. Retrieved 22 November 2016. At that time, Premier Zhou met with the great scholar and peace advocate, Mr. Daisaku Ikeda. His heart was still in pain, because of the campaign of the Japanese militarists against China, and the war between the two peoples was still fresh with the memory of enormous pain and suffering. But Premier Zhou Enlai of China received Dr. Ikeda with dignity and compassion; their conversation is of historic significance and bore great fruit. It set the stage for breaking the deadlock with the US and China, through the visit of Mr. Kissinger and President Nixon to China, and signalled the beginning of a move toward the normalization of relations.
64. Chong Zi and Qin Jize, "Praise for man that called for friendship". China Daily. 9 May 2008. p3.
65. "Ikeda was strongly criticized and even received death threats from right-wingers. Ikeda saw peace with China as fundamental to the stability of Asia, and considered the reintegration of China into the international community as vital to world peace. His call and behind-the-scenes efforts helped establish the groundwork for a series of political-level exchanges between China and Japan, culminating in the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1972." Excerpted from Cai Hong, "Books to connect cultures." China Daily. 4 July 2012.
66. 南开大学周恩来研究中心 (Zhou Enlai Research Center, Nankai University). 2001. 周恩来与池田大作 (Zhou Enlai and Daisaku Ikeda). 主编王永祥 (Edited by Wang Yongxian). Beijing, China: Central Literature Publishing House (Central Literature Publishing House). p2. ISBN 7-5073-0973-8.
67. DePaul College of Education. "Acceptance Speech on the Conferral of the Degree of Doctorate of Human Letters, Honoris Causa from DePaul University". Retrieved 9 September 2024.
68. 共同通信 (18 November 2023). "池田大作名誉会長は15日に老衰で死去" [Honorary Chairman Daisaku Ikeda died of old age on the 15th.]. Kyodo News (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 November 2023.
69. McNeill, William H. 1989. Arnold J. Toynbee: A Life. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. p273. ISBN 0-19-505863-1
70. Goulah Jason, Ito Takao (2012). "Daisaku Ikeda's Curriculum of Soka Education: Creating Value Through Dialogue, Global Citizenship, and 'Human Education' in the Mentor-Disciple Relationship". Curriculum Inquiry. 42 (1): 65. doi:10.1111/j.1467-873X.2011.00572.x. S2CID 143095558.
71. Louis Turner (23 September 2010). "Arnold Toynbee and Japan: From Historian to Guru". In Hugh Cortazzi (ed.). Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits, Vol. VII. Global Oriental. p. 292. ISBN 978-90-04-21803-1. Toynbee "was paid well for six days of extended interviews . The Toynbee-Ikeda dialogue was the final book in Toynbee's prolific career, which meant that his career ended on a controversial note. In some ways this dialogue played into the hands of Toynbee's critics who disliked his obsession with money. Just as his reputation had suffered in the US from his obsession with accepting lucrative lecturing engagements without much concern about the quality of the institutions he was addressing, so it can be argued that he accepted the dialogue with the controversial Ikeda primarily for the money. The controversial Ikeda/Soka Gakkai attempt to use Toynbee's name and reputation needs to be seen in a wider context.
72. Qtd. in McNeill 1989, pp 272–273.
73. Scales Avery, John (23 November 2015). "Book Review: Aurelio Peccei and Daisaku Ikeda, "Before It Is Too Late"". Human Wrongs Watch. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
74. Paterson, Barbara (February 2006). "Ethics for Wildlife Conservation: Overcoming the Human–Nature Dualism". BioScience. 56 (2): 144–150. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2006)056[0144:efwcot]2.0.co;2.
75. "Author Daisaku Ikeda". The Japan Times. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
76. "Japan Times infighting erupts over "Daisaku Ikeda column"". Cat News Agency. 2 July 2006. Retrieved 7 January 2025.

External links

• daisakuikeda.org – Official Daisaku Ikeda website
• soka.ac.jp/en – Full text of selected lectures by Soka University Founder

Buddhist titles
Preceded byJōsei Toda	3rd President of Soka Gakkai 3 May 1960 – 24 April 1979	Succeeded byHiroshi Hōjō (北条浩)

Categories:

• 1928 births
• 2023 deaths
• 20th-century Buddhists
• 20th-century Japanese essayists
• Buddhist pacifists
• Scholars of Buddhism
• Buddhist writers
• Japanese anti–nuclear weapons activists
• Japanese Buddhists
• Japanese religious leaders
• Members of Sōka Gakkai
• Soka Gakkai