Soka Gakkai traces its beginnings to the work of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, an educator and philosopher who founded the organization in Japan in 1930. It first took shape as the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, or Value-Creating Education Society, reflecting Makiguchi’s conviction that education should help individuals create value in their lives and in society. This early phase was not a generic reform movement, but one grounded in a specific vision of human potential and the transformative power of learning. The emphasis on “value creation” already hinted at a spiritual orientation, even as the organization’s initial activities centered on educational reform.

The origin of Soka Gakkai cannot be separated from Makiguchi’s encounter with Nichiren Buddhism and his collaboration with his disciple Josei Toda. Makiguchi’s educational philosophy came to be informed by faith in Nichiren’s teachings, particularly the Lotus Sutra and the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Together, Makiguchi and Toda sought to reform Japanese education through Buddhist principles, seeing in Nichiren’s thought a way to awaken inner dignity and courage. In this sense, the movement’s roots lie in a fusion of pedagogy and practice: the classroom and the chanting hall became two expressions of the same quest for inner transformation.

Over time, especially following Makiguchi’s death and Toda’s assumption of leadership, the organization evolved beyond its original educational framework. Toda rebuilt and reshaped it as a lay Buddhist movement, no longer limited to teachers and schools but open to ordinary people seeking a path of practice in daily life. The name “Soka Gakkai” came to signify a community dedicated to value creation through Buddhist faith, practice, and study. Under this expanded vision, the emphasis on personal inner change naturally extended to social engagement, as practitioners sought to embody Nichiren’s teachings in the midst of the world rather than apart from it.

Thus, Soka Gakkai’s founding and early development can be seen as a journey from an educational reform society to a broad-based lay Buddhist movement, without losing its original concern for human growth. Its genesis in Makiguchi’s value-creating education, deepened through Nichiren Buddhist faith and the partnership with Josei Toda, shaped a distinctive path: one that regards personal transformation as both the means and the measure of authentic religious life.