Daisaku Ikeda

Daisaku Ikeda
President of Sōka Gakkai International
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 January 1975
Honorary President of Sōka Gakkai
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 April 1979
President of Sōka Gakkai
In office 3 May 1960 – 23 April 1979
Preceded by	Josei Toda
Succeeded by	Hiroshi Hōjō (北条浩)
Personal details
Born	(1928-01-02) 2 January 1928 Ōta, Tokyo, Japan
Spouse(s)	Kaneko Ikeda (池田香峯子)
Children	Hiromasa Ikeda (池田博正) Takahiro Ikeda (池田尊弘)
Alma mater	Fuji Junior College (present-day Tokyo Fuji University)

Daisaku Ikeda (池田 大作, Ikeda Daisaku, born January 2, 1928, Japan) is president of Sōka Gakkai International (SGI), a Nichiren Buddhist lay association which claims 12 million members in 192 countries and territories, and founder of several educational, cultural and peace research institutions. Ikeda was listed in Watkins Books' Watkins Mind Body Spirit as the 69th "most spiritually influential" living person in 2012, and the 78th in 2013.

Life and establishment of SGI

Ikeda was born the fifth son of seaweed farmers in Ōta, Tokyo.^{[citation needed]} He had four older brothers, who fought in World War II, two younger brothers, and a sister. During the war, his eldest brother, Kiichi Ikeda (1916–1945), was killed and his familyʼs home destroyed. As a child, he suffered from poor health and tuberculosis and doctors predicted that he would not survive beyond the age of 30.

In August 1947, he met Jōsei Toda at a Sōka Gakkai discussion meeting and joined the organization that month. In 1948, Ikeda decided to leave university in order to help resolve Toda's financial difficulties. Initially, this involved working for Toda's publishing business. Ikeda regarded Toda as his spiritual mentor and writes that he influenced him through "the profound compassion that characterized each of his interactions". He became President of Sōka Gakkai in 1960, after which he began to travel abroad to realize Todaʼs vision of expanding the Sōka Gakkai movement. He said:

What we need most is to restore and revive our humanity. We must create a society where people can live with dignity, a society where people can live in peace and happiness. [. . .] I am convinced that the twenty-first century must see a movement to sow the seeds of peace, happiness and trust in every person's heart.

In 1975 Sōka Gakkai formed Sōka Gakkai International (SGI) in Guam to support its members overseas. Ikeda took a lead role in this development and became President of SGI.

In 1979, Ikeda was forced to resign as president of Sōka Gakkai, accepting responsibility for its purported deviation from Nichiren Shōshū doctrines, and the accompanying conflict with the priesthood, and was succeeded by Hiroshi Hōjō. Ikeda remained president of SGI, and his current position of Sōka Gakkai Honorary President was created for him by Nittatsu Shonin, then the Nichiren Shōshū high priest. He was excommunicated by Nichiren Shōshū on August 11, 1992. SGI members often describe their group as Buddhism's first Protestant movement, since its excommunication by Nichiren Shōshū in 1991.

Peace Movement Across The Globe

He founded the International Committee of Artists for Peace (ICAP) with visionary artists such as Pascual and Angela Olivera, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Patrick Duffy. The ICAP's Advisory Board includes Ikeda's networks with peace heroes such as Prince Hassan bin Talal, Betty Williams, Michael Nobel, Lawrence E. Carter Sr., James and Nancy Chuda, and Shele Sondheim.

Under Ikeda's leadership SGI has developed as a broad-based grassroots peace movement around the world. He has fostered among SGI members a strong ethos of responsibility for the society with global citizenship spirit.

Soka Education

He believes in Soka Education that could enhance and encourage students to develop their unlimited potential and realize how important they are to be able to contribute their capability for the betterment of societies.

Controversy

Polly Toynbee met with Ikeda, at the invitation of the latter, in Tokyo, 1984. Critical, among other things, of his dress and hairstyle, she wrote "I have met many powerful men — prime ministers, leaders of all kinds — but I have never in my life met anyone who exudes such an aura of absolute power as Mr. Ikeda." She also voiced the wish that her grandfather, Arnold J. Toynbee, wound not have endorsed their dialogue, Choose Life, remarking that her grandfather at the time had been "so old" and "was a frail man." In contrast, Toynbee, himself, stated in the book's preface (in the third person), "[On arranging the meetings, translations, and publications] Arnold Toynbee is very grateful to Daisaku Ikeda for having it upon his younger shoulders.". He also expressed his "agree[ment] with Soka Gakkai on religion as the most important thing in human life, and on opposition to militarism and war." The book has been translated and published in twenty languages.

Lawrence Carter, an ordained Baptist minister and the dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel at Morehouse College in Atlanta, has worked with the SGI-USA and Daisaku Ikeda for many years. Morehouse gave an honorary doctorate to Ikeda, and Carter also initiated the annual "Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace" award as a way of extolling those whose actions for peace have cut across human boundaries. When a Shūkan Shinchō article criticized these aspects of the award, Carter wrote a protest to the magazine. In it, he states:

"Controversy" is an inevitable partner of greatness. No one who challenges the established order is free of it. Gandhi had his detractors, as did Dr. King. Dr. Ikeda is no exception. Controversy camouflages the intense resistance of entrenched authority to conceding their special status and privilege. "Insults" are the weapons of the morally weak; "slander" is the tool of the spiritually bereft. Controversy is testament to the noble work of these three individuals in their respective societies.

In 1990 Frederick Kempe reported allegations that he had provided financial assistance to Manuel Noriega in 1987 and 1988. Sōka Gakkai spokesmen denied both this, and that Noriega had officially become a member of SGI.

A 1995 San Francisco Chronicle article titled "Japan Fears Another Religious Sect" outlined charges in Japan that Sōka Gakkai was "heavy-handed fund raising and proselytizing, as well as intimidating its foes and trying to grab political power". It quotes a professor at Meisei University as describing Ikeda as "a power-hungry individual who intends to take control of the government and make Soka Gakkai the national religion"; the article claimed a speech in Santa Monica videotaped in 1993 of "Ikeda yelling and pounding on tables in anger and later railing against President Clinton for having refused to meet with him".

On the other hand, the houses of representatives in Georgia, Missouri, and Illinois recognize the service and dedication of Daisaku Ikeda "who has dedicated his entire life to building peace and promoting human rights through education and cultural exchange with deep conviction in the shared humanity of our entire global family" in which he "values education and culture as the prerequisites for the creation of true peace in which the dignity and fundamental rights of all people are respected."

A 1995 Time article criticized Daisaku Ikeda and Sōka Gakkai, claiming that "according to a member who was present," Ikeda, as "honorary president and unquestioned commander" of Sōka Gakkai, had said of Kōmeitō: "This time, not the next time, [the election] is going to be about winning or losing. We cannot hesitate. We must conquer the country with one stroke." This article also claimed that "Soka Gakkai shares Nichiren's militant aspect. It is openly hostile to other creeds, and members, especially important ones, run a frightening gauntlet if they try to quit." On the other hand, the media devoted very little coverage of or attention to exonerations by the Japanese Supreme Court, received the same year.

In 1999, The New York Times published an article on the uneasy rise of the New Kōmeitō Party in Japan (funded largely by Ikeda and Sōka Gakkai). In response, a letter to the editor by Alfred Balitzer (later of Soka University of America) offered a more sympathetic portrayal of Sōka Gakkai.

Accomplishments

Ikeda is a prolific writer, peace activist and interpreter of Nichiren Buddhism. His interests include photography, art, philosophy, and music. He has signed the Earth Charter. He has traveled to more than 50 countries to hold discussions with political, cultural, and educational figures, as well as to teach, support, and encourage SGI practitioners.

Topics he has addressed include the transformative value of religion, the universal sanctity of life, social responsibility, and sustainable progress and development.

As head of SGI, Ikeda has founded several institutions, such as the Sōka University, Sōka schools, the International Committee of Artists for Peace, the Min-On Concert Association, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum (TFAM), the Institute of Oriental Philosophy (IOP), and the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research.

In addition, he has guided Sōka Gakkai's support of, and involvement in, the New Komeito Party (Kōmeitō), a Japanese political party which, as of 2007, is part of a coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party. Ikeda has also initiated a wide range of grassroots exchange programs, and delivered speeches at a number of institutions of higher learning around the world, including Harvard University, the Institut de France, Beijing University, and Moscow State University. The Gandhi, King, Ikeda exhibition showcases the peace activism of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Ikeda. Another exhibition is Dialogue with Nature showcasing Ikeda's photographs. He has also sponsored a documentary film about the environment, A Quiet Revolution.

In 1996, he signed an agreement with Hebrew University, and was scheduled to give lectures at Columbia University and Denver University.

He has written a peace proposal in January of each year since 1983.

Ikeda has met many prominent thinkers and representatives of diverse religious traditions, frequently publishing transcripts of the conversations as dialogues. For example, in the preface to Choose Life: A Dialogue (Oxford University Press, 1976), he and the historian Arnold J. Toynbee wrote that they agreed on a number of points: that "religion is the mainspring of human life", that a person should "[unreservedly] put himself at the service of the universe", and that karma exists as "an ethical 'bank-account'". More recently, in Planetary Citizenship: Your Values, Beliefs, and Actions Can Shape a Sustainable World (Middleway Press, 2003), futurist Hazel Henderson and Ikeda "explore the rise of "grassroots globalists", ordinary citizens all over the world who are taking responsibility to build a more peaceful, harmonious and sustainable future."

Ikeda's many children's books have been animated into anime.

He is an honorary member of the Club of Rome.

Honorary doctorates and professorships

Ikeda received his 300th degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston on November 21, 2010. He has said that "The academic honors I have accepted have all been on behalf of the members of SGI around the world." His pursuit to promote peace through humanism over the past 60 years has been recognised worldwide, for which he has received over 300 academic honours.

As a Buddhist leader, philosopher, educator and poet, Mr. Ikeda founded several institutions whose mission is to promote his underlying conviction that all individuals possess the ability to create limitless value in harmony with others. Notable among these are the Soka schools, which are based on the philosophy of value-creating education. As an educational system from kindergarten through post-graduate university level, these schools are a concrete expression of his belief that education is one of humanity’s most important, long-term undertakings. Soka University, now considered one of the top private universities in Japan, was founded in 1971. It has exchange agreements with more than 50 institutions of higher learning worldwide. The Soka University of America graduate school was established in Calabasas, California in September of 1994 and offers a Master of Arts degree in Second and Foreign Language Education. Soka University of America, a four-year, Liberal Arts College in Aliso Viejo, California graduated its first class of 100 students in the spring of 2005 with Bachelor of Arts degrees. Thirty-two of these students have already moved on to pursue graduate degrees in universities around the world. As a means of nurturing mutual understanding in our diverse world, Mr. Ikeda has worked actively to promote intercultural exchange.

— Southern Illinois University, The President, on the recommendation of the Honorary Degree and Distinguished Service Award Committee and the Chancellor of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, presents to the Board of Trustees a resolution recommending that Daisaku Ikeda be awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters at the May 2006 commencement of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts, Southern Illinois University Carbondale., SIUC

Number	Country	Institution	Title conferred	Place and date
1	U.S.S.R.	Moscow State University	honorary doctorate	May 1975[citation needed]
2	Peru	National University of San Marcos	hon. professorship	April 1981[citation needed]
3	Bulgaria	Sofia University	honorary doctorate	May 1981[citation needed]
4	China	Peking University	honorary professorship	June 1984[citation needed]
5	China	Fudan University	honorary professorship	June 1984[citation needed]
6	Dominican Republic	Autonomous University of Santo Domingo	honorary professorship	February 1987[citation needed]
7	Argentina	University of Buenos Aires	honorary doctorate	March 1990[citation needed]
8	Mexico	University of Guanajuato	honorary doctorate (Maestro Emérito)	March 1990[citation needed]
9	China	Wuhan University	honorary professorship	November 1990[citation needed]
10	Macau	University of Macau	honorary professorship	January 1991
11	Philippines	University of the Philippines	honorary doctorate of law	April 1991[citation needed]
12	Argentina	University of Palermo	honorary doctorate	May 1991[citation needed]
13	Hong Kong	Chinese University of Hong Kong	distinguished visiting professor	January 1992[citation needed]
14	Turkey	Ankara University	honorary doctorate of social science	June 1992[citation needed]
15	China	Chinese Academy of Social Sciences	honorary research professor	October 1992[citation needed]
16	Kenya	University of Nairobi	honorary doctorate of letters	December 1992[citation needed]
17	Brazil	Federal University of Rio de Janeiro	honorary doctorate	February 1993[citation needed]
18	Argentina	National University of Lomas de Zamora	honorary doctorate	February 1993[citation needed]
19	Argentina	National University of Lomas de Zamora	honorary professorship, faculty of law	February 1993[citation needed]
20	Argentina	National University of Córdoba	honorary professorship	February 1993[citation needed]
21	Paraguay	National University of Asunción	honorary doctorate of philosophy	February 1993[citation needed]
22	Brazil	University of São Paulo	honorary visiting professor	February 1993[citation needed]
23	Brazil	Federal University of Paraná	honorary doctorate	March 1993[citation needed]
24	Bolivia	Del Valle University	honorary doctorate	March 1993[citation needed]
25	China	Shenzhen University	honorary professorship	November 1993[citation needed]
26	China	Xinjian Uygur Autonomous Region Museum	honorary professorship	January 1994[citation needed]
27	Russia	International University in Moscow	honorary doctorate	May 1994[citation needed]
28	Italy	University of Bologna	honorary doctorate	June 1994[citation needed]
29	United Kingdom	University of Glasgow	honorary doctorate	June 1994
30	China	Xinjiang University	honorary professorship	August 1994[citation needed]
31	China	Xiamen University	honorary professorship	November 1994[citation needed]
32	South Africa	University of the North	honorary doctorate of education	September 1995[citation needed]
33	Nepal	Tribhuvan University	honorary doctorate of letters	November 1995[citation needed]
34	Macau	University of Macau	honorary doctorate of social sciences	November 1995[citation needed]
35	Hong Kong	University of Hong Kong	honorary doctorate of letters	March 1996
36	China	Xinjiang University	honorary president	April 1996[citation needed]
37	United States	University of Denver	honorary doctorate of education	June 1996[citation needed]
38	Cuba	University of Havana	honorary doctorate of letters	June 1996[citation needed]
39	Ghana	University of Ghana	honorary doctorate of law	August 1996[citation needed]
40	Russia	Far Eastern State University	honorary doctorate of international education	November 1996[citation needed]
41	China	Zhongshan (Sun Yat-Sen) University	honorary professorship	November 1996[citation needed]
42	China	Jilin University	honorary professorship	February 1997[citation needed]
43	Philippines	De La Salle University	honorary doctorate of humane letters (international education)	March 1997[citation needed]
44	Sri Lanka	University of Kelaniya	honorary doctorate of letters	May 1997[citation needed]
45	China	Shanghai University	honorary professorship	May 1997[citation needed]
46	China	Inner Mongolia University	honorary professorship	October 1997[citation needed]
47	Mongolia	National University of Mongolia	honorary doctorate of humanities	November 1997[citation needed]
48	Philippines	University of the City of Manila	honorary doctorate of humanities	February 1998[citation needed]
49	Argentina	Universidad de Morón	honorary doctorate	March 1998[citation needed]
50	Russia	Institute for High Energy Physics	honorary doctorate	April 1998[citation needed]
51	Brazil	Rio de Janeiro State University	honorary doctorate	April 1998[citation needed]
52	Republic of Korea	Kyung Hee University	honorary doctorate of philosophy	May 1998[citation needed]
53	Republic of Korea	Chung Cheong College	honorary professorship	July 1998[citation needed]
54	Peru	Ricardo Palma University	honorary doctorate	July 1998[citation needed]
55	Peru	Association of Doctors of Education	honorary doctorate	July 1998[citation needed]
56	China	Yanbian University	honorary professorship	November 1998[citation needed]
57	China	Nankai University	honorary professorship	November 1998[citation needed]
58	Brazil	Northern Paraná University	honorary doctorate	November 1998[citation needed]
59	India	University of Delhi	honorary doctorate of letters	December 1998[citation needed]
60	Argentina	University of Flores	honorary doctorate	January 1999[citation needed]
61	China	Sichuan University	honorary professorship	April 1999[citation needed]
62	Peru	Federico Villarreal National University	honorary doctorate	April 1999[citation needed]
63	Republic of Korea	Cheju National University	honorary doctorate of Korean language and literature	May 1999[citation needed]
64	Bolivia	University of Santa Cruz de la Sierra	honorary doctorate	June 1999[citation needed]
65	China	Northeastern University	honorary professorship	July 1999[citation needed]
66	Kyrgyzstan	Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures, Kyrgyz State Pedagogical University	honorary professorship	August 1999[citation needed]
67	Peru	National University of Central Peru	honorary doctorate	September 1999[citation needed]
68	China	Hunan Normal University	honorary professorship	September 1999[citation needed]
69	Argentina	National University of Lomas de Zamora	honorary professorship, faculty of social sciences	October 1999[citation needed]
70	Argentina	National University of Comahue	honorary doctorate	October 1999[citation needed]
71	China	Nanjing University	honorary professorship	December 1999[citation needed]
72	Russia	St. Petersburg State University	honorary doctorate	January 2000[citation needed]
73	United States	University of Delaware	honorary doctorate of humane letters	Tokyo, 16 January 2000
74	United States	Queens College, City University of New York	honorary doctorate of humane letters	January 2000[citation needed]
75	Guam (United States)	University of Guam	honorary doctorate of humane letters	January 2000[citation needed]
76	Philippines	Angeles University Foundation	honorary doctorate of humanities	February 2000[citation needed]
77	China	Central University for Nationalities	honorary professorship	February 2000[citation needed]
78	China	Guangdong University of Foreign Studies	honorary professorship	February 2000[citation needed]
79	Argentina	National University of Nordeste	honorary doctorate	February 2000[citation needed]
80	China	Northeast Normal University	honorary doctorate	March 2000[citation needed]
81	Sakha Republic (Russia)	Yakutsk State University	honorary professorship	March 2000[citation needed]
82	El Salvador	Latin American Technical University	honorary doctorate	April 2000[citation needed]
83	China	Inner Mongolia Art Academy	preeminent honorary professor	April 2000[citation needed]
84	India	Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath Institute of Sanskrit Learning	honorary doctorate (Mahamahopadhyaya)	April 2000[citation needed]
85	Mongolia	Mongolian Institute of Literature and Social Work	honorary rector	May 2000[citation needed]
86	China	Beijing Administrative College	honorary professorship	May 2000[citation needed]
87	China	Yunnan University	honorary professorship	June 2000[citation needed]
88	China	South China Normal University	honorary professorship	August 2000[citation needed]
89	India	Bundelkhand University	honorary doctorate of letters	August 2000[citation needed]
90	Venezuela	University of Zulia	honorary doctorate	September 2000[citation needed]
91	Panama	University of Panama	honorary doctorate	September 2000[citation needed]
92	India	Bundelkhand University	honorary lifetime professor in the Ambedhar School of Social Sciences	October 2000[citation needed]
93	Thailand	Siam University	honorary doctorate of public administration	November 2000[citation needed]
94	Tonga	Tonga Institute of Education and Tong Tonga Institute of Schinece and Technology	honorary professorship of education	November 2000[citation needed]
95	Australia	University of Sydney	honorary doctorate of letters	24 November 2000
96	Malaysia	Putra University, Malaysia	honorary doctorate of letters	November 2000[citation needed]
97	Hong Kong	Chinese University of Hong Kong	honorary doctorate of social science	7 December 2000
98	Mongolia	Mongolian University of Arts and Culture	honorary doctorate	December 2000[citation needed]
99	India	Purvanchal University	honorary doctorate of letters	January 2001[citation needed]
100	China	Guangdong Province Academy of Social Sciences	honorary professorship	February 2001[citation needed]
101	China	Northwest University	honorary professorship	April 2001[citation needed]
102	China	Anhui University	honorary professorship	April 2001[citation needed]
103	Puerto Rico	Carlos Albizu University	honorary doctorate of humane letters in behavioral sciences	May 2001[citation needed]
104	Mongolia	Kharakhorum University	honorary doctorate	May 2001[citation needed]
105	China	Fujian Normal University	honorary professorship	June 2001[citation needed]
106	China	Huaqiao University	honorary professorship	June 2001[citation needed]
107	China	Jinan University	honorary professorship	July 2001[citation needed]
108	Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (United States)	Northern Marianas College	honorary professorship	July 2001[citation needed]
109	China	Soochow University	honorary professorship	October 2001[citation needed]
110	China	Liaoning Normal University	honorary professorship	October 2001[citation needed]
111	Philippines	University of Southern Philippines Foundation	honorary doctorate of humanities	October 2001[citation needed]
112	China	Guangzhou University	honorary professorship	November 2001[citation needed]
113	Republic of Korea	Kyongju University	honorary professorship	December 2001[citation needed]
114	Republic of Korea	Changwon National University	honorary doctorate of education	December 2001[citation needed]
115	Kazakhstan	International Kazakh-Turkish University	honorary professorship	December 2001[citation needed]
116	Dominican Republic	Santiago Technical University	honorary doctorate	February 2002[citation needed]
117	Uzbekistan	National Institute of Arts and Design (Uzbekistan)	honorary professorship	February 2002[citation needed]
118	China	Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences	senior research professor	March 2002[citation needed]
119	Philippines	Gregorio Araneta University Foundation	honorary doctorate of humanities	March 2002[citation needed]
120	Cambodia	Royal University of Phnom Penh	honorary professorship	March 2002[citation needed]
121	China	Liaoning University	honorary professorship	April 2002[citation needed]
122	United States	Morehouse College	honorary doctorate of humane letters	April 2002[citation needed]
123	China	Qingdao University	honorary professorship	April 2002[citation needed]
124	India	Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University	honorary doctorate of letters	April 2002[citation needed]
125	Kenya	Kenyatta University	honorary doctorate of humane letters	May 2002[citation needed]
126	China	Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences	honorary professorship	May 2002[citation needed]
127	Russia	Moscow State University	honorary professorship	June 2002[citation needed]
128	China	Nanjing Normal University	honorary professorship	June 2002[citation needed]
129	Republic of Korea	Sorabol College	honorary professorship	June 2002[citation needed]
130	India	Himachal Pradesh University	honorary doctorate of literature	August 2002[citation needed]
131	China	Renmin University of China	honorary professorship	September 2002
132	China	University of Science and Technology of China	honorary professorship	October 2002[citation needed]
133	China	Zhejiang University	honorary professorship	November 2002[citation needed]
134	Mongolia	Shihihutung Law School	honorary doctorate	November 2002[citation needed]
135	Ukraine	Kiev National University of Trade and Economics	honorary doctorate	November 2002[citation needed]
136	Republic of Korea	Dong-A University	honorary doctorate of philosophy	December 2002[citation needed]
137	China	Shanghai International Studies University	honorary professorship	December 2002[citation needed]
138	China	Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences	honorary professorship	December 2002[citation needed]
139	India	Bharathidasan University	honorary doctorate of literature	January 2003[citation needed]
140	Peru	National University of Piura	honorary doctorate	February 2003[citation needed]
141	Taiwan	Chinese Culture University	honorary doctorate of philosophy	March 2003[citation needed]
142	China	Dalian University of Foreign Languages	honorary professorship	April 2003[citation needed]
143	Paraguay	Columbia University of Paraguay	honorary doctorate of sociology	April 2003[citation needed]
144	Peru	Jorge Basadre Grohmann National University	honorary doctorate	September 2003[citation needed]
145	China	Northwest Normal University	honorary professorship	October 2003[citation needed]
146	Republic of Korea	Gwangju Women's University	honorary professorship	October 2003[citation needed]
147	China	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	honorary professorship	October 2003[citation needed]
148	United States	Chapman University	honorary doctorate of humane letters	December 2003[citation needed]
149	China	Zhaoqing University	honorary professorship	December 2003[citation needed]
150	Sakha Republic (Russia)	Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts	honorary professorship	January 2004[citation needed]
151	India	Rabindra Bharati University	honorary doctorate of literature	February 2004[citation needed]
152	United States	Mineral Area College	honorary professorship of humanities	February 2004[citation needed]
153	China	National Prosecuters College	honorary professorship	March 2004[citation needed]
154	Taiwan	National Pingtung University	honorary doctorate of agricultural sciences	March 2004[citation needed]
155	Republic of Buryatia (Russia)	Buryat State University	honorary professorship	April 2004[citation needed]
156	Brazil	Londrina State University	honorary doctorate	April 2004[citation needed]
157	Bolivia	University of San Francisco Xavier of Chuquisaca	honorary doctorate	May 2004[citation needed]
158	China	China University of Petroleum	honorary professorship	May 2004[citation needed]
159	Philippines	Capitol University	honorary doctorate of humanities	June 2004[citation needed]
160	China	Sanda University	honorary professorship	June 2004[citation needed]
161	Jordan	University of Jordan	honorary doctorate of humane letters	July 2004[citation needed]
162	Mexico	University of Guadalajara	honorary doctorate	September 2004[citation needed]
163	China	Fujian Academy of Social Sciences	honorary professorship	September 2004[citation needed]
164	China	Changchun University	honorary professorship	October 2004[citation needed]
165	China	Qufu Normal University	honorary professorship	October 2004[citation needed]
166	Kyrgyzstan	Osh State University	honorary professorship	November 2004[citation needed]
167	Republic of Korea	Paekche Institute of the Arts	honorary professorship	November 2004[citation needed]
168	Mongolia	Otgontenger University	honorary doctorate	December 2004[citation needed]
169	Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (United States)	Northern Marianas College	honorary president	January 2005[citation needed]
170	Peru	Enrique Guzman y Valle National University of Education	honorary doctorate	January 2005[citation needed]
171	Belarus	Minsk State Linguistic University	honorary professorship	February 2005[citation needed]
172	Philippines	Batangas State University	honorary doctorate of pedagogy	March 2005[citation needed]
173	China	Shanghai University of Finance and Economics	honorary professorship	April 2005[citation needed]
174	Paraguay	National University of Itapua	honorary doctorate	April 2005[citation needed]
175	China	Beijing Language and Culture University	honorary professorship	May 2005[citation needed]
176	Brazil	Cornélio Procópio College of Philosophy, Science, and Letters	honorary doctorate	May 2005[citation needed]
177	China	Huazhong Normal University	honorary professorship	June 2005[citation needed]
178	China	Guangxi Normal University	honorary professorship	July 2005[citation needed]
179	Mongolia	Mongolian Academy of Sciences Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and Law	honorary professorship, philosophy	September 2005[citation needed]
180	Vietnam	Vietnam National University, Hanoi	honorary doctorate	September 2005[citation needed]
181	China	East China University of Science and Technology	honorary professorship	October 2005[citation needed]
182	Serbia and Montenegro	Braca Karic University	honorary doctorate	October 2005[citation needed]
183	Russia	Academy of Security, Defense, and Law Enforcement	honorary professorship	December 2005[citation needed]
184	India	Symbiosis International Educational Centre (Deemed University)	honorary doctorate of literature	December 2005[citation needed]
185	Russia	Ural State University	honorary doctorate	January 2006[citation needed]
186	Laos	National University of Laos	honorary professorship of humanities	February 2006[citation needed]
187	Philippines	Pampanga Agricultural College	honorary doctorate of humanities	March 2006[citation needed]
188	China	Hunan University	honorary professorship	April 2006[citation needed]
189	Ukraine	National Technical University of Ukraine "KPI"	honorary doctorate	April 2006[citation needed]
190	China	East China Normal University	honorary professorship	May 2006[citation needed]
191	China	Nanjing Arts Institute	honorary professorship	May 2006[citation needed]
192	India	Visva-Bharati	honorary doctorate of literature	May 2006[citation needed]
193	China	China Southwest University of Political Science and Law	honorary professorship	June 2006[citation needed]
194	United States	Southern Illinois University Carbondale	honorary doctorate of humane letters	June 2006
195	United States	Los Angeles Southwest College	honorary professorship	June 2006[citation needed]
196	China	Shaoguan University	honorary professorship	June 2006[citation needed]
197	Republic of Korea	Dong Shin University	honorary doctorate of public administration	June 2006[citation needed]
198	Thailand	Maejo University	honorary doctorate of administration	July 2006[citation needed]
199	Brazil	Catholic College of Economic Science of Bahia	honorary doctorate	September 2006[citation needed]
200	China	Beijing Normal University	honorary professorship	October 2006[citation needed]
201	Philippines	University of Rizal System	honorary doctorate of humanities	Nov 24, 2006[citation needed]
202	China	Dalian University of Technology	honorary professorship	Dec 8, 2006[citation needed]
203	Republic of Korea	Dongju College	honorary professorship	Feb 6, 2007[citation needed]
204	China	Guizhou University	honorary professorship	Feb 26, 2007[citation needed]
205	Russia	Baikal National University of Economics and Law	honorary professorship	Mar 13, 2007[citation needed]
206	Venezuela	Rafael Belloso Chacin University	honorary doctorate	Mar 20, 2007[citation needed]
207	Venezuela	Santa María University	honorary doctorate of law	Mar 20, 2007[citation needed]
208	Italy	University of Palermo	honorary doctorate of communication sciences	Mar 23, 2007[citation needed]
209	Brazil	Brazilian Academy of Philosophy	honorary doctorate	Apr 2, 2007
210	United States	University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee	honorary doctorate of humane letters	Apr 17, 2007[citation needed]
211	China	Harbin Engineering University	honorary professorship	Apr 18, 2007[citation needed]
212	Brazil	Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul	honorary doctorate	Apr 29, 2007[citation needed]
213	China	Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences	honorary professorship	May 5, 2007[citation needed]
214	Taiwan	Southern Taiwan University of Technology	honorary doctorate of engineering	May 28, 2007[citation needed]
215	Russia	Russian State University for the Humanities	honorary doctorate	May 31, 2007[citation needed]
216	Peru	National University of El Santa	honorary doctorate	Jun 23, 2007[citation needed]
217	Sakha Republic (Russia)	The Yakut State Agricultural Academy	honorary professorship	Jul 4, 2007[citation needed]
218	Russia	Far Eastern State Technical University	honorary professorship	Jul 9, 2007[citation needed]
219	Philippines	University of Southeastern Philippines	honorary doctorate of education	Sep 13, 2007[citation needed]
220	China	Shaanxi Normal University	honorary professorship	Oct 6, 2007
221	Mexico	University of Humanistic Integration	honorary doctorate of human sciences	Oct 8, 2007[citation needed]
222	Brazil	Ingá University (UNINGÁ)	honorary professorship	Oct 10, 2007[citation needed]
223	China	China Youth University for Political Sciences	honorary professorship	Oct 21, 2007[citation needed]
224	Mongolia	Mongolian State University of Education	honorary doctorate	Oct 24, 2007[citation needed]
225	China	Wenzhou Medical College	honorary professorship	Nov 30, 2007[citation needed]
226	China	Shanghai Normal University	honorary professorship	Dec 17, 2007[citation needed]
227	Dominican Republic	Autonomous University of Santo Domingo	honorary doctorate	Jan 19, 2008[citation needed]
228	Taiwan	National Yunlin University of Science and Technology	honorary doctorate of philosophy in management	Jan 21, 2008[citation needed]
229	Philippines	Laguna State Polytechnic University	honorary doctorate of philosophy in humanities	Jan 26, 2008[citation needed]
230	China	Hunan University of Science and Technology	honorary professorship	Mar 1, 2008[citation needed]
231	Kyrgyz Republic	I. Arabaev Kyrgyz State University	honorary doctorate	Mar 21, 2008[citation needed]
232	China	Jiaying University	honorary professorship	Mar 31, 2008
233	Russia	Tula Lev Tolstoy State Pedagogical University	honorary professorship	Apr 2, 2008[citation needed]
234	China	Hebei University	honorary professorship	Apr 13, 2008[citation needed]
235	China	Yan'a University	honorary professorship	May 4, 2008
236	China	Eastern Liaoning University	lifetime honorary professorship	May 30, 2008[citation needed]
237	China	Changchun University of Technology	honorary professorship	Jun 2, 2008[citation needed]
238	Brazil	Centro Universitário de Goiás	honorary doctorate	Jun 17, 2008[citation needed]
239	Brazil	Centro Universitário Ítalo Brasileiro	honorary doctorate	Jun 20, 2008[citation needed]
240	Philippines	Benguet State University	honorary doctorate of humanities	Jul 10, 2008[citation needed]
241	Taiwan	Chungyu Institute of Technology	honorary professorship	Jul 22, 2008[citation needed]
242	Taiwan	Tainan University of Technology	honorary professorship	Jul 24, 2008[citation needed]
243	Malaysia	Open University Malaysia	honorary doctorate of Arts	Feb 24, 2009[citation needed]
250	Denmark	University of Southern Denmark	honorary doctorate	March 21, 2009[citation needed]
251	Republic of Korea	Korea Maritime University	University Professor	Apr 2, 2009[citation needed]
252	Armenia	Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts and Artists	honorary doctorate	Japan, April 2, 2010
253	Canada	Université Laval	honorary doctorate of education	May 4, 2010
254	Malaysia	University of Malaya	honorary doctorate of humanities	August 2, 2010
	Malaysia	Open University Malaysia	honorary doctor of arts (humanities)	Soka International Friendship Hall, 2010
255	Chile	Universidad Pedro de Valdivia	honorary doctorate	Soka University, August 30, 2010
263	Indonesia	Universitas Indonesia	Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy and Peace	Soka University, October 10, 2009
300	United States	University of Massachusetts Boston	honorary degree	Shinjuku, Tokyo, November 18, 2010
301	Philippines	University of Southern Mindanao	honorary doctorate of humanities	October 9, 2010[citation needed]
317	U.K.	University of Buckingham	Honorary Doctorate of Literature	Oct 25, 2011
318	China	Jimei University	Honorary Professor	Nov 9, 2011[citation needed]
319	Ethiopia	Microlink Information Technology College	Honorary Professor emeritus	Aug 4, 2012[citation needed]

Other awards

• United Nations Peace Award
• Rosa Parks Humanitarian Award
• National Order of the Southern Cross of the Republic of Brazil
• United States Congressional Award
• Honorary Cross of Science and the Arts from the Austrian Ministry of Education
• Medal of the Grand Officer of Arts and Letters from the French Ministry of Culture
• Grand Officer award from the President of the Italian Republic
• Order of Friendship from Russia.
• Kenya Oral Literature Award (1986)^{[citation needed]}
• International Tolerance Award of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (1993, U.S.A.)^{[citation needed]}
• Commendation for Peace and Human Rights Contributions, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine
• Tagore Peace Award (1997, India)
• Albert Einstein Peace Award^{[citation needed]}
• Global Excellence Award, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (2002, U.S.A.)^{[citation needed]}
• Goethe Medal (Weimar Goethe Institute) (Dec 2009)
• Jamnalal Bajaj Award (2005) for "promoting Gandhian values outside India".
• Peace and Friendship Cup (China)
• Knight Grand Cross of the Most Noble Order of the Crown (Thailand)
• Order of Merit "Grand Officer" (Italy)
• Hwa-Gwan Order of Cultural Merit (South Korea)
• World Poet Laureateship, the World Poetry Society

Personal life

Ikeda lives in Tokyo with his wife, Kaneko Ikeda (born 1932), whom he married on May 3, 1952. He has three sons, Hiromasa Ikeda (born 1953; Vice-president of Sōka Gakkai), Shirohisa Ikeda (1955–1984), and Takahiro Ikeda (born 1958).

Books

• Compassionate Light in Asia with Jin Yong
• The Human Revolution (12 volumes):Human Revolution in SGI
• The New Human Revolution (30+ Volumes, this is an ongoing series)
• Choose Life: A Dialogue with Arnold J. Toynbee
• Dawn After Dark with René Huyghe
• Before It Is Too Late with Aurelio Peccei
• Human Values in a changing world with Bryan Wilson
• A Lifelong Quest for Peace with Linus Pauling
• Dialogue of World Citizens with Norman Cousins
• Choose Peace with Johan Galtung
• Planetary Citizenship with Hazel Henderson
• Moral Lesson of the Twentieth Century with Mikhail Gorbachev
• A Quest for Global Peace: Rotblat and Ikeda on War, Ethics, and the Nuclear Threat with Joseph Rotblat
• Global Civilization: A Buddhist-Islamic Dialogue With Majid Tehranian
• Toward Creating an Age of Humanism with John Kenneth Galbraith
• Dialogical Civilization with Tu Weiming
• My Recollections
• One By One
• For the Sake of Peace
• A Youthful Diary
• The Living Buddha
• Buddhism, the First Millenium
• The Flower of Chinese Buddhism
• The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra (6 volumes)
• On Peace, Life and Philosophy with Henry Kissinger
• Human Rights on the 21st Century with Austregesilo de Athayde
• Revolutions: to green the environment, to grow the human heart with M.S. Swaminathan
• Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death: A Buddhist View of Life
• Life: An Enigma, a Precious Jewel
• Humanity at the Crossroads with Karan Singh
• The Snow Country Prince (children's book)
• The Cherry Tree (children's book)
• The Princess and the Moon (children's book)
• Over the Deep Blue Sea (children's book)
• Kanta and the Deer (children's book)
• The Way of Youth: Buddhist Common Sense for Handling Life's Questions (with a foreword by Duncan Sheik)
• Planetary Citizenship with Hazel Henderson
• Songs of Peace: Rendezvous with Nature (Photographs) (Tokyo: Sōka Gakkai, 2005)
• "A Dialogue Between East and West: Looking to a Human Revolution" with Ricardo Diez-Hochleitner
• Ode to the Grand Spirit — A dialogue — with Chingiz Aitmatov
• 'La fuerza de la Esperanza; Reflexiones sobre la paz y los derechos humanos en el tercer milenio' (dialogue between Argentine Nobel Peace laureate Dr. Adolfo Pérez Esquivel and Daisaku Ikeda) (Buenos Aires, Emecé, 2011)

Further reading

• Seager, Richard: Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Sōka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhism. University of California Press, 2006.

External links

• Daisaku Ikeda's website
• SGI President page for Daisaku Ikeda
• Tricycle Magazine Interview, by Clark Strand, Winter 2008
• Lectures around the World

Preceded by Josei Toda

President of Sōka Gakkai 1960–1979

Succeeded by Hiroshi Hōjō