1928

Jan 2

Born in Ota Ward, Tokyo, Japan, to a family of seaweed farmers

1928

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (more>>) and Josei Toda (more>>), later to become first and second Soka Gakkai presidents, begin practicing Nichiren Buddhism.

1930

Nov 18

First printing of Makiguchi System of Soka Education (published by Soka Gakkai predecessor, Soka Kyoiku Gakkai). Publication date later established as Soka Gakkai founding day. (more>>)

1931

Sep 18

Japan places Manchuria under military occupation and installs puppet government

1937

Jul 7

Japanese troops invade China, Sino-Japanese War erupts

1940

Mar

Graduates from Haneda No. 2 Jinjo Elementary School

1940

Oct 20

Makiguchi inaugurated as Soka Kyoiku Gakkai president

1940

Sep 27

Germany, Japan and Italy sign Tripartite Pact

1941

Dec 7

Japan attacks Pearl Harbor; war in the Pacific begins

1942

Mar

Graduates from Haginaka National School

1942

Apr

Begins working at Niigata Steelworks as part of youth labor corps

1943

Jul 6

Makiguchi and Toda arrested and jailed on charges of "lese majesty" and "violation of the Maintenance of the Public Order Act"

1944

Nov 18

Makiguchi dies from abuse and malnutrition at Tokyo Detention House in Sugamo

1944

Nov 24

U.S. commences B-29 bombing raids on Tokyo

1945

Mar 9-10

U.S. launches Tokyo fire bombing campaign

1945

May 24

Ikeda home destroyed in fire following Allied air raid on Tokyo. Family moves to temporary barracks

1945

Jul

Ikeda family moves to Omori Minami, Ota Ward, Tokyo

1945

Jul 3

Toda released from Toshima Penitentiary in Tokyo

1945

Aug 15

Japan surrenders to Allied forces and accepts Potsdam Declaration; World War II ends

1945

Oct

Toda establishes Nihon Shogakkan publishing company

1945

Oct 24

United Nations officially established

1946

Jan

Employed by Shobundo Printing Co.

1946

Mar

Soka Kyoiku Gakkai changes its name to Soka Gakkai

(Suppressed under the wartime military regime, the organization membership of some 3,000, is decimated)

1946

Nov 3

Constitution of Japan promulgated, guarantees freedom of religion

1947

May 3

Japanese constitution adopted

1947

May 30

Ikeda family learns eldest brother Kiichi killed in action in Burma (now Myanmar)

1947

Aug 14

Attends Soka Gakkai discussion meeting, where he encounters Josei Toda (1900-58), who will become his lifelong mentor [Link]

1947

Aug 24

Officially joins Soka Gakkai and begins practicing Nichiren Buddhism

1948

Mar

Graduates from Toyo Trade School

1948

Apr

Enrolls in night school extension of Taisei Gakuin (present-day Tokyo Fuji University College); majors in political science

1949

Jan 3

Employed by Nihon Shogakkan, Toda's publishing company; becomes editor of a boy's magazine

1949

Dec

Employed by Tokyo Construction Credit Association, Toda's new business venture, after Nihon Shogakkan suspends magazine publication

1950

Jun 25

Korean War erupts

1950

Oct

Employed by Okura Shoji Co. Ltd., Toda new business venture, after Tokyo Construction Credit Association suspends operations in August

1950

Nov

Promoted to marketing/sales manager at Okura Shoji Co. Ltd.

1951

Apr 20

Soka Gakkai publishes first issue of its organ newspaper Seikyo Shimbun

1951

May 3

Josei Toda inaugurated as 2nd Soka Gakkai president

1952

May 3

Marries Kaneko Shiraki and moves to Mita in Meguro Ward, Tokyo

1952

Sep 8

Soka Gakkai registered as religious organization

1953

Jan 2

Appointed Young Men's Division leader

1953

Apr 28

Birth of eldest son Hiromasa

1953

Jul 27

Korean War ends

1954

Mar 1

U.S. explodes hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll

1954

Dec 13

Appointed Public Relations Director of Soka Gakkai

1955

Jan 28

Birth of second son Shirohisa

1955

Nov 22

USSR successfully tests hydrogen bomb

1956

Jul 8

Soka Gakkai fields candidates in national elections for the first time, winning 3 seats

1956

Dec 10

Father, Nenokichi, dies at 68

1956

Dec 18

Japan admitted into United Nations

1957

Jul 3

Falsely arrested and detained on suspicion of violating election law in Osaka (later fully exonerated) (more>>)

1957

Jul 17

Released from prison

1957

Sep 8

Toda issues Declaration for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (more>>)

1957

Dec 13

Soka Gakkai membership reaches 750,000 households

1958

Apr 2

1958

Apr 11

Birth of youngest son Takahiro

1959

Jun 30

Appointed to the Soka Gakkai Executive Board

1960

May 3

Inaugurated as third Soka Gakkai president [Link]

1960

Oct 2

As first step to transform Soka Gakkai into a global movement, departs for U.S., Canada and Brazil

1961

Jan 28

Departs on goodwill tour of six Asian countries

1961

Mar 27

Soka Gakkai membership reaches 1.85 million households

1961

Aug 13

Berlin Wall erected, dividing the German city for 28 years

1961

Oct 4

Departs on nine-country tour of Europe

1962

Jan 25

Osaka District Court exonerates Ikeda of July 1957 election law violation allegation [Link]

1962

Jan 27

Founds Institute of Oriental Philosophy in Hachioji, Tokyo (more>>)

1962

Jan 29

Departs on six-country goodwill tour of the Middle East

1962

Oct 22

Cuban Missile Crisis

1963

Jul 27

Soka Gakkai membership reaches 3.6 million households

1963

Oct 18

Founds Min-On Concert Association in Tokyo, Japan (more>>)

1964

May 12

Departs on tour of Australia, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and India

1964

Aug 7

U.S. Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, leading to massive U.S. military involvement in Vietnam

1964

Nov 17

Founds Komeito Party (more>>)

1964

Dec 2

Commences writing The Human Revolution, a novelized account of Soka Gakkai's history, in Okinawa (more>>)

1965

Jul 15

Seikyo Shimbun becomes a daily newspaper

1966

Mar 6

Departs on tour of North and South America

1967

Oct 15

Meets for the first time with Konosuke Matsushita (1894-1989), founder of Pioneer and best-selling author on management philosophy, in Tokyo.

1967

Oct 30

Meets for the first time with Count Richard Nikolaus von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894-1972), Austrian thinker and founder of the first Pan-European movement, in Tokyo. The two collaborated on Bunmei nishi to higashi, 1972 (tentative translation: "Civilization, East and West") [Link]

1967

Nov 18

Founds Soka Schools System, beginning with Tokyo Junior and Senior High Schools

1968

Apr 1

Tokyo Soka Junior and Senior High Schools for boys, founded by Ikeda, opens in Kodaira, Tokyo (becomes co-educational in April 1982) (more>>)

1968

Sep 8

Publicly proposes the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China at a Student Division gathering in Tokyo (more>>)

1970

Jan 28

Soka Gakkai membership reaches 7.5 million households

1970

May 3

Soka Gakkai disallows Komeito Party members from holding Soka Gakkai leadership positions. Komeito's complete autonomy reaffirmed. (more>>)

1971

Apr 2

Founds Soka University in Hachioji, Tokyo (more>>)

1972

May 5

Meets for the first time with British historian Arnold J. Toynbee at his home in London; the two collaborate on Choose Life (English edition, Oxford University Press, 1976)
[Link 1] [Link 2]

For list of other dialogues published, see RESOURCES > Records > Dialogues Published

1972

Sep 29

Normalization of Sino-Japanese relations

1973

Jan 27

Paris Peace Accords officially end U.S. military involvement in Vietnam conflict

1973

Apr 2

Kansai Soka Girls Junior and Sinior High Schools, founded by Ikeda, opens in Katano City, Tokyo (Becomes co-educational in April 1982 and renamed Kansai Soka Schools)

1973

Sino-Soviet clashes escalate; Soviet troop buildup along the border with China reaches all-time high

1973

May 3

Founds Fuji Art Museum in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, near Mt. Fuji (more>>)

1973

Oct 6

1973-74 4th Arab-Israeli (Yom Kippur) War erupts

1974

May 18

Meets for the first time with André Malraux (1901-76), French author and statesman, in Tokyo. The two collaborated on Ningen kakumei to ningen no joken, 1976 (tentative translation: "Changes Within: Human Revolution vs. Human Condition") [Link]

1974

May 30

Visits China for the first time

1974

Sep 8

Visits USSR for the first time and meets with Premier Aleksey Kosygin on Sep. 17
[Link 1] [Link 2]

1974

Dec 5

Visits China and meets with Premier Zhou Enlai
[Link 1] [Link 2]

1975

Jan 10

Soka Gakkai youth present UN secretary-general with ten million signatures supporting the abolition of nuclear weapons

1975

Jan 26

Soka Gakkai International (SGI) established and inaugurated as SGI president (more>>)

1975

Jan 26

Soka Gakkai International established

1975

May 26

Meets for the first time with Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova, former Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman in space, then chair of the Women’s Committee of the USSR, in Moscow

1975

May 27

Delivers lecture titled "A New Road to East-West Cultural Exchange," at Moscow State University, USSR; receives his first honorary doctorate

For list of other lectures and honorary degrees, see Lectures Delivered and Academic Honors in RESOURCES

1976

Apr 1

Sapporo Soka Kindergarten, founded by Ikeda, opens in Hitsujigaoka, near Sapporo, Hokkaido

1976

Sep 6

Mother, Ichi, dies at 80

1978

Apr 1

Tokyo Soka Elementary School, founded by Ikeda, opens in Kodaira, Tokyo

1978

May 22

Submits Ten-Point Proposal for Nuclear Disarmament to First Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament (more>>)

1978

Nov

Receives Order of Founding Fathers from the Dominican Republic

For list of other national awards, see RESOURCES > Records > National Awards

1979

Apr 24

Resigns as Soka Gakkai president; continues as SGI president [Link]

1979

Apr 24

Hiroshi Hojo inaugurated as 4th Soka Gakkai president

1979

Soka Gakkai Youth Division Peace Conference established

1979

Dec

USSR invades Afghanistan (1979-1989)

1980

Aug

Soka Gakkai Student Division Peace Committee established

1980

Dec 18

Soka Gakkai Women's Peace Committee established (more>>)

1981

Apr

Soka Gakkai registered as an NGO with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

1981

Jul

Recognized as Poet Laureate by World Academy of Arts and Culture

1981

Jul 18

Hojo dies at 58; Einosuke Akiya inaugurated as 5th Soka Gakkai president

1981

Dec 20

Soka Gakkai registered as NGO of the UN Department of Public Information (UNDPI)

1982

Apr 1

Kansai Soka Elementary School, founded by Ikeda, opens in Hirataka City, Osaka

1982

Jun 5

Submits Proposal for Disarmament and Abolition of Nuclear Weapons to Second Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament

1983

Jan 25

First of annual peace proposals published

For list of available annual peace proposals, see RESOURCES > Written Works > Proposals

1983

May 12

SGI registered as an NGO of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN

1983

Aug 8

Receives United Nations Peace Medal

1983

Sep 14

"Nuclear Arms: Threat to Our World" exhibition opens in Vienna, Austria (after being shown in seven Japanese cities, beginning in Tokyo in July 1982)

1984

Oct 3

Second son Shirohisa dies from illness at 29

1985

Apr 2

Founds Soka Women's College in Hachioji, Tokyo

1987

Feb 3

Founds Soka University of Japan, Calabasas Campus, in California, USA (more>>)

1987

Feb 24

Meets for the first time with chemist, peace activist and two-time Nobel laureate Linus Pauling (1901-94). The two collaborated on A Lifelong Quest for Peace, originally published in Japanese in 1990 and later translated into other languages including English, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and French. [Link]

1989

Oct 11

Meets for the first time with physicist, anti-nuclear activist and Nobel peace laureate Sir Joseph Rotblat (1908-2005), in Osaka. The two collaborated on A Quest for Global Peace, originally published in Japanese (2006) and translated into other languages including English, German and Italian. [Link]

1989

Nov 9

Berlin Wall torn down

1989

Dec 3

USA and USSR heads of state hold Malta Summit, declare end of Cold War

1990

Feb 11

Nelson Mandela freed from prison in South Africa; the white minority government and African National Congress begin negotiations to dismantle apartheid

1990

Mar 15

Mikhail Gorbachev sworn in as first USSR president

1990

Jul 27

Meets for the first time with then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, at the Kremlin in Moscow. The later two collaborated on Moral Lessons of the Twentieth Century, originally published in Japanese (1996) and translated into other languages including Russian, English, Icelandic, German and Korean. They are currently preparing a second dialogue for publication.
[Link 1] [Link 2]

1990

Oct 31

Meets for the first time with Nelson Mandela, leader of the African National Congress and the South African anti-apartheid movement, in Tokyo. Mandela had been released from prison earlier that year and had begun working with the white minority government to lead the country toward multi-racial democracy.

1991

Jan

Submits joint emergency appeal to President Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait before the Jan. 15, 1991 deadline set by multinational coalition forces following Iraq's invasion in 1990, together with Soviet writer Chingiz Aitmatov; British physicist Bernard Benson; The Club of Rome President, Ricardo Diez Hochleitner; UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor Zaragoza; and Nigerian pIaywright and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Wole Soyinka.

1991

Jan 17

30-nation coalition force led by the U.S. commences war on Iraq (Persian Gulf War), after Iraq refuses to withdraw from Kuwait

1991

Gulf War ceasefire declared; Iraq pulls out of Kuwait

1991

Nov 28

Nichiren Shoshu excommunicates SGI membership (more>>)

1992

Apr 5

Meets with American-born violin virtuoso and conductor Sir Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) in Tokyo

1992

Sep 1

Founds Hong Kong Soka Kindergarten in Hong Kong

1993

Jan 17

Founds Singapore Soka Kindergarten in Singapore

1993

Jan 30

Meets with American civil rights leader Rosa Parks (1913-2005) in Los Angeles, California, USA

1993

Feb 9

Meets for the first time with president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Austregésilo de Athayde (1898-1993), a writer, journalist and human rights champion who played a major role in the drafting of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, in Rio de Janeiro. The two later collaborated on Human Rights in the Twenty-first Century, first published in Japanese in 1995 and later in Portuguese, then in English (2009, I.B. Tauris) [Link]

1993

Aug 6

Commences writing The New Human Revolution in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture. The series picks up Soka Gakkai's history where The Human Revolution left off

1993

Sep 24

Founds Boston Research Center for the 21st Century in Boston, Massachusetts, USA (renamed the Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue in 2009) (more>>)

1995

Apr 16

Founds Malaysia Soka Kindergarten in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1995

Oct 16

SGI Charter established (more>>)

1995

Nov 16

Meets for the first time with renowned contemporary Chinese writer Jin Yong at his home in Hong Kong. The two collaborated on Kyokujitsu no seiki o motomete (tentative translation: "Compassionate Light in Asia"), first published in Japanese (1998) then in traditional and simplified Chinese.

1995

Dec 1

Founds Makiguchi Foundation for Education in Tokyo, Japan (more>>)

1995

Dec 8

Meets for the first time with Argentinian Nobel peace laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel in Tokyo. The two collaborated on a dialogue that was serialized in The Journal of Oriental Studies beginning in 2007. [Link]

1996

Feb 11

Founds Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research in Tokyo, Japan (more>>)

1996

Mar 14

Meets for the first time with celebrated Chinese calligrapher and painter Fang Zhaoling (1914-2006) in Hong Kong. [Link]

1998

Oct 26

SGI presents petition with more than 13 million signatures in support of Abolition 2000, a campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons led by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, to the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General at New York UN HQ

2001

May 3

Founds Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, California, USA (more>>)

2001

Jun 6

Founds Brazil Soka Kindergarten in São Paulo, Brazil

2001

Sep 11

Terrorists perpetrate attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., USA

2003

Feb 3

Founds Brazil Soka Elementary School in São Paulo, Brazil

2003

Mar 20

U.S.-led forces invade Iraq

2004

Jul

SGI membership grows to 190 countries

2005

Jan 26

SGI celebrates 30th anniversary, membership reaches some 12 million

2005

Feb 18

Meets with 2004 Nobel peace laureate and Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Maathai in Tokyo.

2005

Nov 18

Soka Gakkai celebrates 75th anniversary

2006

Oct 7

Receives 200th honorary doctorate from Beijing Normal University [Link]

For list of other honorary degrees, see RESOURCES > Records > Academic Honors

2006

Nov 9

Minoru Harada, formerly vice general director of the Soka Gakkai, inaugurated as sixth Soka Gakkai president

2007

Apr 12

Meets with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who was on an official state visit to Japan [Link]

2008

Mar 15

Founds Soka Happiness Kindergarten in Seoul, South Korea [Link]

2008

May 6

Receives 500th honorary citizenship from Tucheng City, Taipei County, Taiwan

2008

May 8

Meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao, who was on an official state visit to Japan [Link]

2008

Nov 18

Receives 600th honorary citizenship from Oklahoma State, USA

2009

Mar 21

Awarded 250th academic honor from Denmark's University College South [Link]

For list of other honorary degrees, see RESOURCES > Records > Academic Honors