Minoru Harada (原田 稔, Harada Minoru; born 8 November 1941) is a Japanese Buddhist leader. He is the sixth president of…
Minoru Harada (原田 稔, Harada Minoru; born 8 November 1941) is a Japanese Buddhist leader. He is the sixth president of the Soka Gakkai from 9 November 2006. He is also the Supreme Advisor of Sōka University and the Acting President of Soka Gakkai International (SGI). In 1953, he became an adherent of Soka Gakkai (at the time was one of the several lay organizations of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism). He attended Tokyo Metropolitan Bunkyo High School (now Tokyo Metropolitan Bunkyo Secondary Education School). He graduated from the University of Tokyo with a Bachelor of Economics degree. According to Soka Gakkai, he was a left-wing protester and a student activist, participating in the demonstration into the National Diet Building in the 1960s. He was the manager of the Student Division and the Youth Division of Soka Gakkai, and one of the Vice-Presidents of Soka Gakkai. In a 1976 interview, Harada provided views of Soka Gakkai which contrasted with traditional Nichiren ones; although the latter has typically seen natural disasters as arising when society refuses to adopt the "True Law", Soka Gakkai viewed such effects as being subtler, as in societal problems rather than the likes of earthquakes. He became the sixth President of Soka Gakkai on 9 November 2006 following the resignation of Einosuke Akiya. On 8 November 2014, Harada officially declared in the Seikyo Shimbun newspaper that the original tenets of the Soka Gakkai Constitution from 1930 have been revised and the Dai Gohonzon image that was once venerated within the organization is no longer its object of worship, further disassociating Soka Gakkai from the Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist sect.
Famous People from Tokyo
Tokyo: 6 people
Kōji Harashima (原島 宏治, Harashima Kōji; 4 December 1909 – 9 December 1964) was a Japanese politician and religious…
Kōji Harashima (原島 宏治, Harashima Kōji; 4 December 1909 – 9 December 1964) was a Japanese politician and religious leader who briefly served as the first leader of Komeito, in addition to a serving as a board chairman for Soka Gakkai. He served in several other capacities throughout his career as well.
Shinjō Itō (伊藤真乗; March 28, 1906 – July 19, 1989) was the Japanese founder of Shinnyo-en, a Buddhist new religious…
Shinjō Itō (伊藤真乗; March 28, 1906 – July 19, 1989) was the Japanese founder of Shinnyo-en, a Buddhist new religious group. He was born in Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan. After a career as an aeronautic engineer, he dedicated himself to a religious life. He trained at the Daigo-ji monastery and became a Dai-Ajari of Shingon Buddhism and later founded Shinnyo-en in 1936. In 1950, a high-ranking disciple who worked in the temple office filed formal charges against Itō. He claimed he had been beaten during one of the sesshin trainings. Itō maintained that he was only trying to suppress the disciple's physical convulsions during the session. Itō was arrested on 20 August 1950, and the trial for the case lasted until March 1956, when he was sentenced to seven months imprisonment and three years of probation. Besides his work as a Buddhist teacher, Itō is also known as a Buddhist sculptor and photographer. His works were featured in a Centennial Exhibition throughout Japan in 2006 and a major exhibit at the Milk Gallery in New York City in 2008. Other exhibitions include a solo exhibit at the Westwood Art Forum in Westwood, Los Angeles, California from May 8, 2008 – June 29, 2008.
Count Muneyoshi Tokugawa (徳川 宗敬, Tokugawa Muneyoshi; 31 May 1897 – 1 May 1989) was a Japanese forester, politician and…
Count Muneyoshi Tokugawa (徳川 宗敬, Tokugawa Muneyoshi; 31 May 1897 – 1 May 1989) was a Japanese forester, politician and Shintō priest. His court rank was Junior Third Rank.
Hisanori Fujita (藤田 尚徳, Fujita Hisanori; 30 October 1880 – 23 July 1970) was a Japanese admiral in the Imperial…
Hisanori Fujita (藤田 尚徳, Fujita Hisanori; 30 October 1880 – 23 July 1970) was a Japanese admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, court official and Shinto priest. After retiring from active service, he served as Chief Priest of Meiji Shrine and the Grand Chamberlain to Emperor Hirohito during World War II.
Daisaku Ikeda (池田 大作, Ikeda Daisaku; 2 January 1928 – 15 November 2023) was a Japanese Buddhist leader, author…
Daisaku Ikeda (池田 大作, Ikeda Daisaku; 2 January 1928 – 15 November 2023) was a Japanese Buddhist leader, author, educator and nuclear disarmament advocate. He served as the third president and then honorary president of the Soka Gakkai, which is considered among the largest of Japan's new religious movements, but has also been described as a cult by medias ("Soka Gakkai has many of the markings of a cult") and politicians (the French parliamentary commission in 1995). Ikeda was the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International. Although a claimed Japanese membership of 8.27 million households, recent research and surveys suggest that between 2.5 million and 4 million people - approximately two to three percent of the Japanese population - are active members of Soka Gakkai, and the organization claims to have approximately 11 million practitioners in 192 countries and territories, more than 1.5 million of whom reside outside of Japan as of 2012. Ikeda was the founder of a variety of educational and cultural institutions including Soka University, Soka University of America, Min-On Concert Association and Tokyo Fuji Art Museum. In Japan, he was also known for his international outreach to China.