The New Human Revolution, vol. 27

By Daisaku Ikeda

Through this novelized history of the Soka Gakkai— one of the most dynamic, diverse, and empowering movements in the world today— readers will discover the organization's goals and achievements even as they find inspiring and practical Buddhist wisdom for living happily and compassionately in today's world. The book recounts the stories of ordinary individuals who faced tremendous odds in transforming their lives through the practice of Nichiren Buddhism and in bringing Buddhism's humanistic teachings to the world. This inspiring narrative provides readers with the principles with which they can positively transform their own lives for the better and realize enduring happiness for themselves and others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Oct 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781946635600

Book preview

Young Shoots

Young shoots!

Young shoots,

growing vigorously,

sights on the future,

reaching for the limitless sky!

Your vibrant lives

brim with hope,

beat with hearts of justice,

and pulse with a love of learning.

My precious, treasured young friends,

carrying on the spiritual baton of Soka,

widen and extend

the path of peace and friendship

that I have forged,

and rid the world

of poverty and hunger,

discrimination, war, and all misery!

Toward that end,

may you be strong, courageous, and wise!

Develop and challenge yourselves,

and study eagerly.

With great anticipation,

I am waiting—

and the world is waiting—

for your growth.

Birds sing songs of joy

as flowers dance a waltz of happiness

along with the breeze.

Princes and princesses,

it is time for you to set forth

on your journey into the future!

IT WAS a warm, sunny day in Tokyo on April 9, 1978, with the temperature steadily rising throughout the morning to mid-June levels. Warmed by the sun’s rays, the cherry trees, which had not yet blossomed owing to unseasonable cold weather up until then, suddenly bloomed all at once.

From around nine that morning, Takanodai Railway Station on the Seibu Kokubunji Line in Kodaira City, Tokyo, started bustling with elementary school students dressed in their new uniforms and accompanied by their parents. The boys wore navy blue shorts and jackets with stand-up collars, and the girls wore navy blue pleated skirts and blouses with sailor-style collars and red kerchiefs. Their uniforms all seemed a little too big for them—their parents no doubt having taken into account, when buying them, how quickly their children would grow in the next few years. Happy smiles lit the children’s faces, and hope shone in their eyes.

The first entrance ceremony for Tokyo Soka Elementary School was being held that day.

TOKYO SOKA Elementary School was built adjacent to the Soka Junior High and High Schools. Bathed in the spring sunlight, the new school’s shining white, three-story concrete building stood out vividly amid the beautiful greenery of Musashino [as this area of Tokyo was once known]. Its top-floor balcony was adorned with a large banner, roughly thirty yards long, proclaiming Congratulations on Starting School—Let’s Set Forth With Hope!

The entrance ceremony started at eleven in the junior and senior high auditorium. Gazing up at the stage, some of the new elementary school students appeared slightly nervous as the emcee declared the ceremony open.

Taking the podium, Principal Takashi Araki announced that 125 first graders, 82 second graders, and 84 third graders had been admitted to the newly opened school. He then introduced the motto for these three lower grades of the elementary school: Be Bright! Be Considerate! Be Tenacious!

The school’s founder, Shin’ichi Yamamoto, had suggested this motto, following a request from the faculty and staff involved in setting up the school. He chose these three particular points highlighting inner qualities, such as one’s attitude and approach to life, based on his belief that humanistic education must especially pay attention to fostering students’ spirit and character.

Be Bright! means being cheerful and positive. It was a call for students not to put themselves down but to enthusiastically engage in various activities with an unconstrained and open-minded attitude.

Be Considerate! means caring about others. Some people may achieve high marks in school, but if they think only about themselves, it will cause only suffering to themselves and those around them. Being able to show kindness and consideration to others is one of the most essential requirements for developing sound character.

Be Tenacious! means having patience and perseverance. Without tenacity, children won’t be able to achieve their goals or real growth as human beings. It is a crucial quality that children need to acquire if they are to be victorious in life.

Shin’ichi firmly believed that helping children establish a sound inner foundation was the most important aim of primary education.

THE CEREMONY moved to the presentation of a pledge from a student representative. A third grader climbed the stairs to the stage and went to stand before the principal at the podium.

The auditorium fell silent. Everyone followed the young boy’s movements anxiously.

Our long-awaited entrance ceremony has arrived …, he began, his energetic voice ringing out through the hall. He spoke clearly, without stumbling or hesitating.

"From today, we are students of Tokyo Soka Elementary School. We will do our best, just like the older students at the Soka Junior High and High Schools.

"Our brand-new white school building and nice classrooms and lunchroom all seem to be calling out, ‘We’re waiting for you!’

We would like to thank our mothers and fathers for letting us attend this wonderful school. Thank you!

The eyes of many of the parents filled with tears. They felt the noble spirit of this young student representative conveying his own gratitude for his parents.

The Roman philosopher Seneca said, Nothing is more honourable than a grateful heart.¹

The student continued: "We would also like to thank Mr. Yamamoto, who is the happiest of all to see us start school.

"Mr. Yamamoto said that he would be the roots supporting our future growth.

Mr. Yamamoto! As emissaries of the future, we promise to do our very best in the twenty-first century. We therefore pledge, from today, to be bright, considerate, and tenacious, as our school motto states.

Loud, sustained applause resounded throughout the hall.

After the student’s speech, a member of the Soka schools’ board of trustees read a message from the founder. The message had been printed out on a sheet of paper and handed to the students, with pronunciation guides next to all the Chinese characters so that they could read it.

The children followed the printed message intently as it was read aloud.

AFTER OFFERING sincere congratulations to them and their parents, Shin’ichi Yamamoto shared an Aesop’s fable called The Merchant and the Donkey.

A donkey carrying a load of salt on its back was crossing a stream when it slipped and fell. Some of the salt dissolved in the water, making the donkey’s load lighter. Delighted at this outcome, the donkey decided to purposely fall in the water to lighten its load the next time. But the load that particular time was not salt but cotton. Thus, when the donkey fell into the stream, the cotton soaked up the water. The load only grew heavier, and the donkey sadly drowned.

Shin’ichi’s point in including this story in his message was that, by being lazy and seeking the easy way, we can end up hurting ourselves.

He wrote: "You, too, may sometimes have problems, difficulties, or things that feel like a heavy load. You might be scolded by a teacher or feel sad when you don’t do well in your schoolwork. You might lose an argument with a friend and feel really angry and upset as a result. But all these experiences, these ‘heavy loads,’ will help you to become a great individual.

"Just as winter always turns to spring, sad things in life are often followed by enjoyable, happy things. Bamboo does not break under the weight of the snow. It just endures and waits patiently for the hope-filled spring to come.

"This doesn’t mean that you suffer all alone. If you have any problems, please tell your parents or seek advice from your teachers and good friends.

You are all like young bamboo shoots, with a lot of growing to do. I hope you will have big, open hearts; build strong bodies and spirits; and learn to be flexible and tenacious like bamboo.

The children’s eyes shone.

Shin’ichi wanted to teach the young students the most important way to live, which is to face difficulties head-on.

If they got into the habit of avoiding difficulties, they would only bring unhappiness on themselves in the end.

SHIN’ICHI ALSO called on the students to read many good books. He recounted how, when he was an elementary school student, his family had no money to buy books, so he instead borrowed books from his school and neighborhood libraries and avidly read novels such as Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island. He encouraged the children to read great books from around the world.

The French philosopher René Descartes observed, To read good books is like holding a conversation with the most eminent minds of past centuries.²

Coming into contact with good books from a young age provides unsurpassed nourishment for the mind.

Shin’ichi then asked the students to follow the school rules, the road safety rules, and the rules of society, and to always greet people brightly with big, clear voices.

One important purpose of elementary education is to help children acquire good habits that will serve as the foundation for the rest of their lives.

Lastly, Shin’ichi stated: "It is thanks to your parents that you are able to attend this new school. Please be good to them and your brothers and sisters too.

"In the same way, I hope you will be kind to your friends and others as well, especially those who are less fortunate than you. Be young people with big, generous hearts who are always considerate of others.

I would like to end my message with the wish that you will study a lot, play a lot, and become fine elementary school students.

Applause rang out through the auditorium, conveying the children’s determination and the parents’ joy.

Lastly, the chair of the board of trustees, Susumu Aota, came to the microphone. He offered his congratulations and said that the splendid growth of each member of these first classes would create a wonderful tradition for Tokyo Soka Elementary School. He also expressed his hopes that they would all freely develop their potential with their sights set toward the twenty-first century.

AFTER THE entrance ceremony, the children filed out of the auditorium and proceeded to the Tokyo Soka Elementary School campus. On their way, they crossed the Glory Bridge, which spanned the Tamagawa Canal—which ran through the junior high and high schools’ campus—and walked across the sports ground to the adjacent assembly area in front of the elementary school’s main building. The students were scheduled to participate in a group photo there with the school’s founder, Shin’ichi Yamamoto.

Shin’ichi was traveling from the Tachikawa Culture Center to attend the photo session. In the car, he said to one of the school staff with him: I can’t wait to meet the students! We’ll be on time for the photo session, won’t we? I don’t want to keep them waiting.

Shin’ichi was overjoyed to be meeting the children.

He arrived at the school just before eleven thirty and rushed from the main entrance to the schoolyard, arriving just as the students had finished lining up by grade. Seeing the children’s bright, smiling faces, he found himself waving and calling out to them, Welcome, welcome to Soka Elementary School!

The children energetically greeted him back.

Shin’ichi walked over to them and, looking intently at their faces as if to engrave them in his heart, said, Congratulations on entering Soka Elementary School!

He extended his hand to shake theirs, addressing them one by one as he did so.

I’m so glad to meet you!

I’ve been looking forward to this day!

I’ll always remember you.

Some of the students smiled shyly, some confidently said their names when asked, and others expressed their thanks to him.

To have a smile for and talk with each person individually is the way to open the door to their heart. The first step in education starts with opening children’s hearts. If their hearts are closed, seedlings cannot be planted there.

SHIN’ICHI YAMAMOTO sat for group photographs with students in each of the first three grades. Finally, he took a photo with the teachers and staff.

He then gathered with the students at the school entrance for the planting of trees to commemorate the school’s opening. Among the several trees to be planted were two Yoshino cherry trees with wooden tags bearing the names Prince Tree and Princess Tree, respectively. At the request of Principal Araki, Shin’ichi had named the trees during his visit to the school campus the previous day, April 8.

Shin’ichi watched as male student representatives placed some soil over the roots of the Prince Tree and female student representatives did the same for the Princess Tree.

Looking at the newly planted pair of cherry trees, Shin’ichi said to the children: As soon as you come through the main gate, you can see both of these trees. By the time they have grown into great big trees, all of you will be active in society. I’m looking forward to that day. Please grow big and strong along with these trees.

Planting trees is planting hope for the future.

Let’s give a big cheer! Shin’ichi said.

In response, everyone cheered three times. The children’s energetic voices reverberated into the blue sky.

Shin’ichi added: "I can’t meet with you like this every day, but as your school’s founder, I will visit the school as often as I can, quietly watching over all of you. As a matter of fact, I came to the school yesterday. While I was here, Principal Araki asked me to give names not only to these two cherry trees but also to the pathways, the gardens, and other parts of the school. I was happy to do so, hoping it would make your school days more enjoyable.

I named the pathway running alongside the sports ground into the school Fairytale Path, and the schoolyard, Happy Playground.

The latter name embodied Shin’ichi’s wish that the students would remain happy and positive no matter what, while studying and growing strongly and freely.

Naming things gives them new meaning. It can inspire fresh hope and inspiration.

THE DAY before the entrance ceremony, Shin’ichi had taken a tour around the school with Principal Takashi Araki.

Araki was born into a farming family in Saitama Prefecture in 1915. After graduating from the Saitama Prefecture Youth School Teacher’s Training Institute, he taught at various schools, including a Japanese youth school in Manchuria. After World War II, he taught in Saitama at a number of public junior high schools and went on to serve as an assistant principal on the elementary and junior high school levels as well as an elementary school principal.

In addition to helping students develop their academic abilities, he also endeavored to put into practice value-creating education and come up with methods that would aid students in building lasting happiness throughout their lives. He also devoted a great deal of time and effort to studying parent-child interactions, enabling him to give pertinent and much-appreciated advice to parents.

As a principal, he instituted a program in which students of different grades ate lunch together, along with the principal and the teachers. It was a way to foster an environment that helped students and teachers communicate and understand one another better. The lunch program’s success was recognized with an Award of Excellence from the Japanese Minister of Education.

After retiring from teaching, Araki became the director of a local civic center. Wishing to benefit from his rich educational experience, the Tokyo Soka Elementary School invited him to be its first principal.

While taking a tour of the school grounds, Shin’ichi had voiced his sincere gratitude to Principal Araki, saying: Thank you very much for your efforts for the Tokyo Soka Elementary School. I’m sorry we called you out of retirement for this new challenge. Please take good care of your health.

It is like a dream for me to be able, at this late stage in my life, to take part in your efforts for education, which you regard as your life’s crowning undertaking. Nothing could give me greater pleasure. You have entrusted me with the most wonderful mission. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will devote my life, in whatever small way I can, to these precious, precious children.

Gratitude gives rise to joy. Joy is the wellspring of enthusiasm, energy, and creativity. As such, victory in life, too, starts from gratitude.

WHEN SHIN’ICHI and Principal Araki reached the entrance to the school’s main building, Vice Principal Masaru Kito and about ten teachers, including Yoshimasa Hagino, were there to greet them. Both Kito and Hagino were Soka Gakkai Education Department members who had worked tirelessly for the realization of humanistic education.

When the teachers started thanking him profusely, Shin’ichi responded, No, it’s I who should thank you, and shook hands with each of them.

Several children in their new school uniforms were also there.

Why are you here before the school has opened? Shin’ichi wondered. Oh, I see. You were so excited that you couldn’t wait and came to check out your new school. Since you’re here, let’s all take a tour of the building together!

Shin’ichi then asked the principal to lead the way.

Walking past the school nurse’s office, they entered the nearest classroom, which was one of the rooms to be used by those in first grade.

The desks, chairs, and blackboard are all nice and new. I’m sure you will enjoy studying here. Let’s take a seat! Shin’ichi said.

Shin’ichi promptly sat down in one of the small chairs. The children and teachers followed suit.

Shin’ichi looked around and then addressed Tadayoshi Nishinaka, a young teacher with glasses.

Mr. Nishinaka! Since we have some students here today, could you give us a sample lesson?

Nishinaka had previously taught social studies at Soka Girls Junior High and Senior High Schools in Kansai (now the Kansai Soka Schools). Because he also had an elementary school teacher’s license, he had been transferred to teach at the new elementary school.

Standing in front of the blackboard, Nishinaka could not hide his uncertainty about how to respond to this sudden, unexpected request.

Education means engaging with real, living human beings. Actual classroom situations don’t always match what’s written in manuals. Teaching is, in fact, a continuous series of unforeseen events. One of the important qualities a teacher must have is the ability to deal with the unexpected.

Shin’ichi, too, believed that this was an essential requirement for all teachers.

NISHINAKA STOOD in front of the blackboard looking somewhat at a loss. Seeking to help him out, Shin’ichi said: You seem uncertain about what to do. How about giving us a Japanese lesson?

Okay, Nishinaka replied, and began writing on the blackboard.

He wrote phonetically in hiragana Mirai no shishiya, though what he meant to write was Mirai no shisha (emissary of the future).

He then addressed the students: This is what you are. Everyone who can read this, please read it aloud in a big voice.

The children appeared confused.

Shin’ichi spoke up: Mr. Nishinaka, are you sure that’s right?

What do you mean? Nishinaka looked perplexed.

"You need to be more careful. What you’ve written is ‘Mirai no shishiya.’ That would mean the children are going to inherit a shop called Lion (Jpn shishi) in the future! He then added: Of course, if it were read in the Kansai dialect, it might take on the meaning of ‘You are future lions,’ but we should probably stick to standard Japanese in the classroom, don’t you think?"

There was good-natured laughter at Shin’ichi’s words.

With a smile, he then said to the children: "Mr. Nishinaka is trying to say that you are all precious emissaries of the future.

But when you write, it’s important to write the words correctly so that you can clearly convey what you mean. Mr. Nishinaka made this small error on purpose to teach you this.

Really? said some of the students, undeceived.

Fresh laughter erupted.

Since the school hadn’t opened yet, the room was bare of welcoming flowers, but the bright smiles and warm laughter of this spontaneous first class filled the room.

Education should not start by making students tense and uncomfortable but rather by making them feel relaxed and at ease.

SHIN’ICHI SAID with light humor to the teachers: Why don’t I give today’s lesson? We can’t have the students learning the wrong thing!

He rose from his chair and walked over to the blackboard. Picking up a piece of chalk, he wrote in Japanese: "Saita / saita / sakura ga saita (They’ve bloomed / they’ve bloomed / the cherry blossoms have bloomed)." He then asked the students to read out what he had written, which they all did in bright, energetic voices.

Excellent! Well done! Shin’ichi said.

Addressing the teachers, he said: "That was the first sentence I learned at elementary school. I’ve never forgotten it.

The first class is very important. If you can make students excited about learning in that first class, they’ll be keen to study. On the other hand, if your first class is boring, they’ll dislike studying. Beginnings are important in everything.

As he spoke, a memory from first grade came back to him. He remembered writing his first composition and how happy he was when his teacher told him he had done a good job. Later, he and another student were asked to read their compositions at a first grade assembly. This gave him confidence, and he learned the pleasure of writing. It may well be that this elementary school experience fostered his love for writing poems and novels in later years.

The educator and champion of Philippine independence José Rizal once observed, [A child] who was once praised in the presence of his peers, the next day was learning twice as much.³

Shin’ichi praised the children again: You read the words I wrote on the blackboard very well. That is because you have already studied hard. You may later come across words that you don’t know how to pronounce or what they mean, but as long as you keep studying, you’ll definitely master them someday. You’re all very clever.

Self-confidence powers growth.

SHIN’ICHI LEFT the first grade classroom together with the children and went up to the second floor, where they visited the science room, the library, the home economics room, the multipurpose room, the music room, and the broadcast room.

In the home economics room, several students of the Soka Girls Junior High and Senior High Schools in Kansai—sister schools of the elementary school—were writing out song lyrics by hand. As boarding students at the Kansai schools, they had returned home to Tokyo and other parts of the Kanto area for the spring break and volunteered to help with the preparations for the new school’s entrance ceremony. They wanted to show their support for their younger fellow students.

Hearing this from a one of the teachers, Shin’ichi said to the girls: That’s what I thought. I knew you’d come to lend a hand. Thank you! I’m so happy to see that you have developed the spirit to support others.

Shin’ichi presented each girl with a pencil commemorating the opening of the elementary school.

Turning to Principal Araki, he said: At the elementary school, let’s also foster good-hearted children who are kind and thoughtful to others. The Soka schools mustn’t create a coldhearted elite with no humanity, because that would only cause the people to suffer. Shin’ichi firmly believed that the key to revitalizing education ultimately started with fostering a spirit of caring, kindness, and generosity.

In the multipurpose room, Shin’ichi played table tennis with the teachers. He wanted to get to know them and connect with them one to one. In the music room, he played the piano.

Shin’ichi regarded the teachers as comrades who shared his commitment to humanistic education and who would put it into practice at the school. Moreover, in a sense, they were acting on behalf of him and also Makiguchi and Toda, his predecessors in developing Soka education. For that reason, he was intent on establishing a strong bond of teamwork with them.

NEXT, SHIN’ICHI and everyone went up to the third floor. After viewing the craft workshop, they entered the Japanese-style room that would be used for traditional arts.

Shin’ichi said to the children: Today, before visiting your school, I attended a gathering to celebrate the entrance of new students to the Soka Junior High and Senior High Schools. So let’s take a short break here together. They all sat down around a low table on the tatami-mat floor.

While talking with the teachers, Shin’ichi remarked, We shouldn’t pamper children too much but let them do things for themselves.

Learning how to deal with challenges and difficulties is extremely important for living a successful life. This is because life is full of situations that present us with the new and unexpected.

Shin’ichi continued: "While we need to keep an eye on children, we also have to be careful not to be overprotective. Otherwise, we’ll prevent them from developing independence and make them timid and afraid to take initiative.

In teaching, please always give deep thought to each child’s future and what will be important for them to lead a happy life. Your doing so at this school will change education in a way that will benefit children.

Shin’ichi had high expectations for the new elementary school.

LOOKING AT the children dressed in their new school uniforms, Shin’ichi said with great feeling to the teachers: "Exactly ten years have passed since the opening of the Soka Junior High and Senior High Schools. In that time, Soka University has also opened, and a graduate school has been established there. In addition, the Soka Girls Junior High and Senior High Schools opened in Osaka, and Soka Kindergarten opened in Sapporo. Soka education is beginning to shine throughout the country.

With the opening of the Tokyo Soka Elementary School, a complete Soka schools system from kindergarten through university level has been realized. We are now entering the second phase of development in Soka education.

Shin’ichi had regarded the addition of an elementary school as critical to the goal of establishing a Soka schools system. That is why, in April five years earlier (1973), when the Soka Girls Junior High and Senior High Schools opened, he had proposed that an elementary school be established next. A preparatory committee for this purpose was formed in July 1974.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the founder of Soka education, and his disciple Josei Toda had both been schoolteachers and had devoted their greatest energies to elementary education. Shin’ichi was, therefore, especially passionate about opening an elementary school and had worked tirelessly for its realization.

No great achievement can be accomplished in a single generation. It requires the presence of disciples who embrace the original mentor’s vision as their own and wholeheartedly strive to achieve it over successive generations. That is how great things are accomplished.

Disciples can join in a great undertaking precisely because the mentor has opened the way. At the same time, the mentor’s vow is realized precisely because the disciples carry on the mentor’s work and vision. An eternal flow of mentor and disciple will create a new great tide of Soka.

Based on his own teaching experience and ideas, Makiguchi formulated a system of value-creating (Jpn soka) education. And the establishment of schools based on those educational ideals was the cherished wish of Makiguchi and his disciple Toda.

Toda put these ideals of his mentor into practice at his private academy Jishu Gakkan and demonstrated the results to Japanese society. This, however, was but a small, limited demonstration of Makiguchi’s full educational philosophy and practice. Now, through the efforts of Toda’s disciple, Shin’ichi Yamamoto, a complete Soka schools system from kindergarten to graduate school had been established.

THE MORE Shin’ichi Yamamoto had thought about the current condition of Japanese elementary education, the more important he had felt it was to open a Soka Elementary School in order to offer exemplary education and lead the way forward for education as a whole.

In May 1973, the year that the Soka Girls Junior High and Senior High Schools opened in Kansai, the results of the First International Science Study conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement were published. Japan ranked ahead of Sweden, the United States, and the United Kingdom in both elementary school and junior high school categories.

But the educational situation in Japan was far from being a cause for celebration. At the time, as was frequently pointed out, Japanese education focused heavily on intellectual training and fact cramming, paying little attention to fostering the well-rounded development of students.

Overemphasis on academic background in Japanese society led to fierce competition to gain entrance into junior high schools attached to well-known public and private universities, which would give the students a leg up into acceptance at those universities or other prestigious secondary schools. To pass those entrance exams, many elementary school students were extremely busy after school attending cram schools and preparing for mock tests. Although the cram schools tended to focus on rote learning, they were nevertheless popular, because getting into the school of one’s choice through regular classroom learning alone was considered extremely difficult.

Eventually, as regular schools increased the level of coursework in their curriculum, a growing number of students couldn’t keep up.

Moreover, with the rise in urbanization, there were