Daisaku Ikeda was born in Tokyo, Japan on January 2, 1928 into a family of seaweed farmers. Ikeda is a prolific writer, environmentalist, peace activist, and follower of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, also considered "true Buddhism". He has written over 100 books on Buddhism. Ikeda was the president of Soka Gakkai, an organization supporting the practice of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, from 1960 to 1979 and currently maintains the position of Soka Gakkai Honorary President. Ikeda developed SGI (Soka Gakkai International) which is an international outreach program for Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism. Many members of this organization refer to him as their "mentor in life".
Ikeda has been influential world-wide. He holds over 230 honorary doctorates and over 550 honorary citizenships around the world. Ikeda also holds numerous memberships and has received many awards. Ikeda has founded many educational, peace and cultural institutions including Soka University (1971), Tokyo Fuji Art Museum (1983), and Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research (1996).
Ikeda and his wife, Kaneko, married on May 3, 1952. They have three sons.
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