Soka Gakkai traces its beginnings to Japan in 1930, when Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, an educator and philosopher, established an organization originally known as Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, the “Value-Creating Education Society.” This early form of the movement arose from Makiguchi’s desire to reform education through his theory of value creation, which emphasized cultivating beauty, benefit, and good in human life. From the outset, the group’s identity was shaped by a synthesis of educational reform and devotion to Nichiren Buddhism, particularly faith in the Lotus Sutra and the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Makiguchi’s colleague and disciple, Josei Toda, soon became central to this emerging lay movement, helping to articulate and spread its ideas among ordinary people.

The crucible of wartime persecution profoundly marked the movement’s development. During the period of militarist rule, Makiguchi and Toda refused to comply with state-imposed religious practices, including acceptance of Shinto talismans, and opposed the government’s religious policies. This stance led to their imprisonment, and Makiguchi died in prison in 1944, while Toda survived. The suffering and resolve demonstrated during this time became a kind of spiritual touchstone for the community that would later re-form around Toda’s leadership.

After his release, Josei Toda undertook the task of rebuilding what had been shattered. The organization was reconstituted under the name Soka Gakkai, “Value-Creating Society,” signaling a shift from a primarily educational association to a lay Buddhist movement dedicated to religious practice and propagation. The focus broadened from classroom reform to the transformation of everyday life through faith in Nichiren’s teachings, the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and study of Nichiren’s writings. Under Toda’s guidance as second president, Soka Gakkai grew rapidly, emphasizing active proselytizing and the empowerment of lay believers.

In this way, the origins of Soka Gakkai can be seen as a movement from theory to lived experience: from an educational philosophy of value creation to a lay Buddhist community seeking personal and social transformation. Its birth in the realm of pedagogy, its testing in the fires of persecution, and its rebirth as a dynamic lay movement together form a continuous thread. That thread is the conviction that ordinary people, grounded in Nichiren Buddhist faith and practice, can create value in every sphere of life and thereby reshape both self and society.