Achieving resounding victory through shared struggle
The spirit to stand up alone – this was the quality most cherished by first Soka Gakkai president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, our founding mentor.
On 3 July 1945, amid the scorched ruins of war-torn Japan, second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda stood alone. Never yielding to the brutal oppression of the militarist government, he emerged from prison as an indomitable champion of the Mystic Law. With unwavering resolve, he vowed to vindicate his mentor, Makiguchi – who had died in prison – by spreading Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings and realising kosen-rufu. In the steadfast fulfilment of that vow, he inspired the emergence of 750,000 Bodhisattvas of the Earth.
What matters is how you respond at each crucial moment
Keeping the burning spirit of Makiguchi and Toda alive in his heart, the young Daisaku Ikeda, Toda’s devoted disciple, waged an unrelenting battle against the devilish nature of the authorities. On 3 July 1957, he was unjustly arrested on false charges in what came to be known as the Osaka Incident.[[1]] Upon his release from custody on 17 July, he proclaimed at the Osaka Rally[[2]] : ‘Final victory belongs to those who strive tenaciously in faith!’
Fifty years ago, on 17 July 1975, President Ikeda took time to talk with me and other members in Kanagawa Prefecture. Recalling the day of his release, he called out with conviction: ‘Let us raise high the banner of humanism and forge ahead with courage and perseverance along the steep path ahead.’ Notably, just one day before his full acquittal – on 24 January 1962 – he addressed a Kansai young men’s division leaders meeting in Hyogo Prefecture. To his cherished comrades who were fighting alongside him, he declared: ‘Let us boldly set forth anew, with an unflagging commitment to put the happiness of the people first.’
Bold advance – this is our shared motto as we continue striving to expand justice and truth throughout society.
In 1967, President Ikeda offered mottos to every region to encourage members throughout Japan to advance kosen-rufu with confidence in their local areas. These eternal guidelines serve as a spiritual backbone, drawing on each region’s unique character and mission. When we take these words of our mentor to heart and live them out in practice, we awaken limitless inner strength.
President Ikeda encouraged young people: ‘Youth must stand strong in the face of adversity! What matters is how you respond at each crucial moment.’
As we enter July, the Month of Youth, let each of us, as proud successors of President Ikeda, with fresh spirit and commitment and embracing the practice of a disciple, build great citadels of friendship and happiness in our respective places of mission!●
(Translated from the July 2025 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai monthly study journal.)
References
[[1]]: Osaka Incident: The occasion when President Ikeda, then Soka Gakkai youth division chief of staff, was arrested and wrongfully charged with election law violations in a House of Councillors by-election in Osaka in 1957. At the end of the court case, which continued for more than four years, he was fully exonerated of all charges on 25 January 1962.
[[2]]: Osaka Rally: A Soka Gakkai rally held to protest the unjust detention of President Ikeda by the Osaka District Prosecutor’s Office. It was convened at the Nakanoshima Civic Hall in Osaka on 17 July 1957, the day of President Ikeda’s release after two weeks of interrogation by the authorities.