title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: The 2005–06 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclays Premiership for sponsorship reasons) began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea retain their title after defeating Manchester United 3–0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of April. On the same day, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City were relegated, joining Sunderland in the Championship for the following season. Chelsea drew the record they set the previous season, with 29 wins in home and away campaigns.


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: Several clubs reported disappointing attendances and/or trouble selling out their grounds for the opening weeks' matches. Many have argued that this was due mainly to the comparatively early season start and the Ashes Test cricket series which caught the nation's imagination and which England went on to win. Other possible reasons are continued escalation of ticket prices and the increasing number of games shown on television (which has had the knock on effect of greater variation in kick-off times). The overall decline in attendances for the season was only around 2%, but that figure is reduced by the fact that bigger clubs were promoted into the Premiership than were relegated and several clubs have suffered larger falls.


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: For the second time in two seasons, José Mourinho's Chelsea triumphed in the Premier League, with a home win over closest rivals Manchester United confirming them as champions after a record setting albeit tense season.


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: Chelsea's early season form with 14 wins out of 16 gave the champions an unequivocal head start. With Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool falling way short of their expectations before Christmas, Chelsea had effectively become champions-elect by early 2006. However, a sudden collapse in form by mid-March caused their seemingly unassailable lead of 16 points to be cut to just 7 in two months due to the impressive late run of form of Manchester United, who went on a nine-match winning streak scoring over 20 goals. However, a shock home draw with bottom of the table Sunderland at Old Trafford killed United's title hopes. The momentum was back with Chelsea who didn't need a second bite at the apple with wins over Bolton, Everton and finally Manchester United giving the west Londoners their second successive championship under Mourinho.


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: The top two clubs at the end of the season earned the right to participate in the UEFA Champions League group stages, while the third- and fourth-placed clubs get places in the Champions League Third Qualifying Round (where they progress to the Champions League group stages if they win or the UEFA Cup if they lose). However, if an English team wins the Champions League, but finishes outside the top four, then they get the final Champions League spot instead of the fourth-placed club, who have to settle for a place in the UEFA Cup. This could have been the case with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, but Arsenal pipped Spurs to fourth place in the final matchday of the season before losing 2–1 to FC Barcelona in the final of the UEFA Champions League.


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: The fifth-placed club always earns a spot in the UEFA Cup. The winners of the FA Cup also earn a place in the UEFA Cup. If they have already qualified for European competition by their league position or winning the League Cup, then the FA Cup runners-up get their place. If the runners-up, too, have already qualified, then the highest league finisher who have not already qualified for Europe (normally sixth place) are given the place. This season, the FA Cup final featured Liverpool and West Ham. Since Liverpool finished third they were assured of a spot in the Champions League qualifying round, which in turn meant that West Ham received the cup winner's UEFA Cup place.


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: The League Cup winners also qualify for the UEFA Cup. If they have already qualified for European competition through other means then their place is, unlike the FA Cup, not awarded to the runner-up, but instead the highest league finisher who has not qualified for Europe. League Cup winners Manchester United finished second, placing them directly into the Champions League group stage. This meant that the sixth-placed club, Blackburn Rovers, qualified for the UEFA Cup. The team directly after the UEFA Cup places, goes into the UEFA Intertoto Cup which means in turn, if the team – Newcastle United this season – wins a 2-legged match means they earn a place in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: 2005-06 also saw the final action of two of the most successful players in English football, Alan Shearer (last played for Newcastle United) and Dennis Bergkamp (last played for Arsenal).


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the Championship. The promoted teams were Sunderland, Wigan Athletic and West Ham United. Sunderland and West Ham United returned to the top flight after an absence of two years while Wigan Athletic played in the top flight for the first time in history. They replaced Crystal Palace, Norwich City (both teams relegated after a season's presence) and Southampton (ending their top flight spell of twenty-seven years).


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: Defence: Pascal Chimbonda (Wigan Athletic), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), John Terry, William Gallas (both Chelsea)


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: Midfield: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Joe Cole (Chelsea)


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: The FWA Footballer of the Year award for 2006 was won by Thierry Henry for a record third time. No other player has won the accolade on as many occasions as the Arsenal player in the award's long history.


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: José Mourinho was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Season award after he led Chelsea to their second premier league title in two years, their third league title in their history. This title was also his second time of winning the award in as many seasons.


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: Thierry Henry was named the winner of the Premier League Golden Boot award. The Arsenal striker scored 27 goals in the league and was presented with the award at Arsenal's last game at Highbury.


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina won the Premier League Golden Glove award for the first time. He achieved clean sheets in 20 Premier League games.


title: 2005–06 FA Premier League

text: The Premier League Fair Play League was won by Charlton Athletic, ahead of fellow London team Arsenal. The least sporting side was Blackburn Rovers.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The movement was founded by educators Makiguchi and Toda on 18 November 1930, and held its inaugural meeting in 1937. It was disbanded during the Second World War when much of the leadership was imprisoned for violations of the 1925 Peace Preservation Law and charges of lèse-majesté. After the war, it expanded to a claimed total of 750,000 households in 1958 through explosive recruitment, held to be unprecedented in Japanese media. Further expansion was led by its former third president Daisaku Ikeda. According to its own account, has 12 million members in 192 countries and territories around the world.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Moving the group toward mainstream acceptance, the organization is still viewed with suspicion in Japan and has found itself embroiled in public controversies, especially in the first three decades following World War II. From 1952 to 1991, it was affiliated with the Nichiren Shōshū Buddhist sect. Komeito, a political party closely aligned with Soka Gakkai and founded by elements of its lay membership, entered a coalition agreement with the Liberal Democratic Party in 1999 and is currently a junior partner in government.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The belief of the Soka Gakkai centers on recognizing that all life has dignity with infinite inherent potential; this immanent "Buddhahood" exists in every person and can be awakened through the Buddhist practice prescribed by Nichiren. Further, a person's social actions at every moment can lead to "soka", or the creation of value (the theory of the interdependence of life). Societal change is facilitated through "human revolution", a way of living in the world that creates value.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The doctrine of the Soka Gakkai derives from Nichiren, who promulgated the "Lotus Sutra" as he perceived its application to the epoch in which he and people today live. Soka Gakkai gives significance to Nichiren's writings, as Gosho, and Soka Gakkai refers to the collection of Nichiren's writings that was compiled by Nichiko Hori and Jōsei Toda, published as "Nichiren Daishonin Gosho Zenshu" in 1952 (and later officially published an English translation, "The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin", and in several other languages based on the collection).


title: Soka Gakkai

text: T’ien-t’ai (538–597), a Chinese Buddhist scholar who upheld the "Lotus Sutra", developed a theoretical system to describe the infinite interconnectedness of life translated as "the principle of the mutually inclusive relationship of a single moment of life and all phenomena" or "three thousand realms in a single moment of life" (Japanese: "ichinen sanzen"). This theory demonstrates that the entire phenomenal world exists in a single moment of life. Soka Gakkai members believe that because Nichiren made actualizing this possible by inscribing "Gohonzon" and teaching the invocation, their prayers and actions can in a single moment pierce through limitations.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: While imprisoned, Josei Toda studied a passage from the Immeasurable meanings sutra (considered the introduction to the Lotus Sutra) that describes Buddhahood by means of 34 negations – for example, that it is "neither being nor non-being, this nor that, square nor round". From this, he concluded that "Buddha" is life, or life force.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The "philosophy of life" restates principles formulated by Nichiren: "three thousand conditions in a single moment" ("ichinen sanzen"), and "observing one's own mind" ("kanjin")


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The concept of life force is central to the Soka Gakkai's conception of the role of religion and the application of Nichiren's teachings. "Our health, courage, wisdom, joy, desire to improve, self-discipline, and so on, could all be said to depend on our life force", Ikeda says.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Toda considered that the concept of "Buddha as life (force) means that Buddhism entails transforming society. Ikeda has been quoted as saying "Faith is firm belief in the universe and the life force. Only a person of firm faith can lead a good and vigorous life ... Buddhist doctrine is a philosophy that has human life as its ultimate object, and our Human Revolution movement is an act of reform aimed at opening up the inner universe, the creative life force within each individual, and leading to human freedom."


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Soka Gakkai teaches that this "self-induced change in each individual" – which Josei Toda began referring to as "human revolution" – is what leads to happiness and peace. While older schools taught the attainment of Buddhahood in this life through the Gohonzon, they did not tie this to social engagement. Toda's conception of life force and human revolution means that one attains Buddhahood "through engagement in the realities of daily life, through attaining benefits and happiness that involve all of life, and through extending this happiness to others".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai liturgy refers to all of its first three presidents – Tsunesabura Makiguchi, Josei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda – as "the eternal mentors of kosen-rufu", and "Soka Gakkai's long-time leader, Ikeda is revered by Gakkai members". The relationship between members and their mentors is referred to as "the oneness of mentor and disciple". The mentor is to lead and thereby improve the lives of his disciples. The mentor's actions is seen as giving disciples confidence in their own unrealized potential. The role of disciples is seen as supporting their mentor and realizing his vision using their unique abilities and circumstances. The relationship is seen as non-hierarchical and mutually weighted. Disciples are encouraged to be active creators rather than passive followers. Seager writes: "The oneness of the mentor-disciple relationship is described not in terms of demands and duties as many critics imagine it to be, but in terms of choice, freedom and responsibility. It is the disciple's choice and decision to follow the mentor's vision for their common goal. In response, it is the mentor's wish to raise and foster the disciple to become greater than the mentor.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Since the mid-1990s, the issue of the oneness of mentor and disciple has received more prominence in the Soka Gakkai. There is a strong emphasis on "cultivating all members ... in discipleship" through forging "affective one-to-one relationships with Ikeda".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Nichiren wrote a treatise "On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land" in 1260 CE and submitted it to the regent. Soka Gakkai members believe that it is one of his most important writings. In it, he claimed that the source of the natural disasters Japan faced at that time was due to the weakened spirit of its people, caused by attachments to religions that disavow the primacy of the people themselves. He called for the leaders and people to base their spiritual life on the Lotus Sutra, "the correct teaching", which would, in turn, lead to "the peace of the land".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Ikeda has said, "Nichiren stressed the need to spread the correct teaching and firmly establish the philosophical principles of Buddhism in the heart of each individual." Hence, "establishing the correct teaching" is the Soka Gakkai's religious mission, while "establishing the peace of the land" is its social mission.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Reading this writing largely influenced Makiguchi to embrace Nichiren Buddhism; at his first meeting, Ikeda decided to make Toda his mentor after hearing the latter lecture on this writing. Soka Gakkai members believe "the peace of the land" depends on transforming the heart and mind of one individual at a time, affirming the basic good within all people, respecting human dignity and the sanctity of life, and valuing dialogue. Furthermore, Soka Gakkai members believe these principles must become the spiritual foundation for peace in society and require joining forces with like-minded individuals and organizations.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 1957, former Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda proclaimed three "Eternal Guidelines of Faith". In 2003, third President Daisaku Ikeda added two more guidelines. The Five Guidelines of Faith are:


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Soka Gakkai members pray to Nichiren's Gohonzon (see section on Gohonzon), which "embodies Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the essence of the Lotus Sutra". The Gohonzon includes the Sutra's teaching that all life inherently possesses dignity when "illuminated by the light of the Mystic Law". (The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon p 832), and depicts the ceremony in which bodhissatvs embrace "their mission to teach and preach to suffering people the path to happiness and freedom".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai's history is closely intertwined with the study of the Lotus Sutra. Josei Toda began the postwar reconstruction by lecturing on the sutra, the study of which led to what Soka Gakkai considers his enlightenment (see "Life Force and Human Revolution") After the Soka Gakkai's excommunication by Nichiren Shōshū, Daisaku Ikeda conducted dialogue sessions on the Lotus Sutra which resulted in the publication of a six-volume work called "The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra". The Soka Gakkai also sponsored the Burton Watson translation of the Lotus Sutra as well as several international exhibitions about the Lotus Sutra. Ikeda has referenced the Lotus Sutra in many of the annual peace proposals he submits to the United Nations. He compared the awakening of women mentored by Wangari Maathai to the essence of the Lotus Sutra, "a transformation from individuals seeking salvation to individuals taking action to help others free themselves from suffering."


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The concept of karma is based on the law of causality. It refers to consequences created through one's actions, words or thoughts.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Early Buddhism and as Professor Ved Nanda explains Hindus believe to redress karma accumulated over the course of many eons, one must be reincarnated numerous times. The concept of karma then often became a source of despair as well as a tool for Buddhist clergy to instill fear and guilt in the minds of believers. Soka Gakkai Nichiren Buddhism, however, believes that the fundamental cause for revealing the ultimate potential of life, or Buddha nature, can diminish the influence of negative karma in the present lifetime.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Ikeda explains that negative karma is subsumed in the world of Buddhahood and is purified by its power. Importantly, Soka Gakkai members believe effects are determined simultaneously with causes, though they remain latent until the right external influences bring them to fruition. Soka Gakkai Buddhism teaches that even the most stubborn karma can be overcome as one reveals one's Buddha nature in this lifetime. Thus, karma becomes a source of hope and mission rather than despair.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (also called "Daimoku") is the main practice of the organization, which is claimed to express the true nature of life through cause and effect.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The believers of the organization chant these words reputed to change their lives, including the natural environments in which they live. Accordingly, the intended goal is to produce an internal change that serves as the motivator for external social change. Furthermore, the organization teaches that chanting cannot be divorced from action.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Soka Gakkai members believe that chanting releases the power of the universal life force inherent in life. For some members, chanting for material benefits is a first step toward realizing the ultimate goal of Buddhahood. It further claims that there is no separation between life in the world and the universal life of Buddhahood, and leads to effects in daily life Thus, Buddhahood is expressed to be as the process of transforming, and as the actual transformation of, daily life. Therefore, chanting is not approached as a passive exercise, as Soka Gakkai literature urges practitioners to have "conviction", tenacity and perseverance and to challenge their personal problems.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Soka Gakkai, excommunicated from Nichiren Shoshu in 1991, has a custom of chanting excerpts from the Lotus Sutra and its title as part of morning and evening prayers. Soka Gakkai, like the sect, receives the Gohonzon and places it on a unique altar called "Gakkai-Yo" (for Gakkai use), and performs the service facing it. It can be substituted for the installation of a Buddhist altar. If one is unable to perform the service at home for an extended period of time due to a business trip, a single family assignment, hospitalization, or other reasons, he or she may receive a loan of an Omamori Gohonzon from the branch or ward headquarters to which he or she belongs.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The "Gohonzon" Soka Gakkai members enshrine in their homes and centers is a transcription by the 26th High Priest Nichikan Shonin. The central main syllabary of characters reads "Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo" (Kanji: 南 無 妙 法 蓮 華 經). The lower portion reads "Nichi-Ren" (Kanji: 日 蓮). On the corners are the names of the Four Heavenly Kings from Buddhist cosmology, and the remaining characters are names of Buddhist deities reputed to represent the various conditions of life.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The organization teaches that in contrast to worshiping the Buddha or Dharma as anthropomorphized personifications, Nichiren deliberately made a calligraphic mandala, rather than Buddhist statues as the central object of devotion. American author, Richard Seager explains the following:


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai often uses Nichiren's metaphor of a mirror to explain its faith in the Gohonzon. The Gohonzon "reflects life's innate enlightened nature and cause it to permeate every aspect of member's lives". Members chant to the Gohonzon "to reveal the power of their own enlightened wisdom and vow to put it to use for the good of themselves and others". The organization teaches that a member is considered to be practicing the Lotus Sutra when chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The primary practice of the Soka Gakkai, like that of most Nichiren sects, is chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which is the


title: Soka Gakkai

text: title of the Lotus Sutra, and simultaneously considered the Buddha nature inherent in life. and the ultimate reality of existence. The supplemental practice is the daily recitation of parts of the 2nd and 16th chapters of the Lotus Sutra. Unlike other Nichiren sects, the Soka Gakkai stresses that practicing for this enlightenment entails actual "engagement in the realities of daily life", while including the happiness of others in one's own practice.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Believers claim that the Lotus Sutra contains principles or teachings that are not readily apparent. Furthermore, the organization claims that Nichiren revealed these teachings as The "Three Great Secret Laws" namely the following:.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In addition, the Soka Gakkai publishes study materials, including the writings of Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra, and has a well-developed program of study. Its series of study examinations reflects its roots as an educational reform society. As a New Religion, Soka Gakkai practices Nichiren Buddhism as it has been expounded by its three founding presidents, and so also studies their speeches and writings, especially those of 3rd President Daisaku Ikeda. His novelized histories of the movement, "The Human Revolution" (and its sequel "The New Human Revolution") have been said to have "canonical status" as it "functions as a source of inspiration and guidance for members". Study meetings are held monthly. "The tenor of the meetings is one of open discussion rather than didactic teaching..." Discussions on Nichiren's teachings are welcomed, "dictatorial edicts on moral behavior are not."


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai practice also includes activities beyond the ritualistic, such as meetings, social engagement, and improving one's circumstances; these also have significance as religious activities in the Soka Gakkai.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The practices to improve oneself while helping others, and the study of Buddhism, combine with "faith" in what the Soka Gakkai considers "the three basic aspects of Nichiren Buddhism" – faith, practice and study. Faith, as explained in a booklet given by SGI-USA to prospective new members, is an expectation that deepens with experience as one practices in the Soka Gakkai.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Gakkai meetings have been called "formal liturgies" in that their format – "chanting, relatos (experiences), teachings, inspiring entertainment" – is identical from place to place. Discussion meetings are among the most important activities of the Soka Gakkai. Professor of philosophy at Virginia Tech University Jim Garrison writes that John Dewey's belief "that the heart and guarantee of democracy is in free gatherings of neighbors and friends in the living rooms of houses and apartments to converse freely with one another." Garrison points out that the Soka Gakkai grew out of precisely such gatherings. "Soka Gakkai discussion meetings are a wonderful example of grass-roots democracy."


title: Soka Gakkai

text: At discussion meetings, participants are encouraged to take responsibility "for their own lives and for wider social and global concerns". The format is an example of how the Soka Gakkai is able to "dispense with much of the apparatus of conventional church organization".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: At one time, the Soka Gakkai's expansion methods were controversial, as it employed a Buddhist method called "shakubuku", a term employed by Nichiren, translated as "break and subdue (attachments to inferior teachings)."


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The reason for propagation, as explained by Josei Toda, is "not to make the Soka Gakkai larger but for you to become happier ... There are many people in the world who are suffering from poverty and disease. The only way to make them really happy is to shakubuku them."


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 1970 Ikeda prescribed a more moderate approach, "urging its members to adopt an attitude of openness to others"; the method Soka Gakkai prefers since then is called "shoju "– "dialogue or conversation designed to persuade people rather than convert them", though this is often referred to still as "shakubuku spirit". In 2014 the Soka Gakkai changed the "Religious Tenets" section of its "Rules and Regulations" as regards propagation. Formerly, the Tenets said the Soka Gakkai "would seek to realize its ultimate goal – the widespread propagation of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism throughout Jambudvipa (the world), thus fulfilling the Daishonin's mandate." The new version says "it shall strive, through each individual achieving their human revolution, to realize as its ultimate goal the worldwide propagation of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, thus fulfilling the Daishonin's mandate." According to Soka Gakkai President Harada, "worldwide propagation" is a function of individuals undergoing positive change in their lives. The belief of the Soka Gakkai, then, is that propagation activities give meaning both to the activity itself and to the personal lives of its members.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The following are categorized records of the first three presidents of the organization, their leadership and list of contributions.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 1928, educators Tsunesaburō Makiguchi and Jōsei Toda both converted to Nichiren Buddhism. The Soka Gakkai officially traces its foundation to November 1930, when Makiguchi and Toda published the first volume of Makiguchi's magnum opus on educational reform, "Sōka Kyōikugaku Taikei" (創価教育学体系, "The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy"). The first general meeting of the organization, then under the name "Sōka Kyōiku Gakkai" (, "Value Creating Educational Society"), took place in 1937.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The membership eventually came to change from teachers interested in educational reform to people from all walks of life, drawn by the religious elements of Makiguchi's beliefs in Nichiren Buddhism. The group had a focus on proselytization growing from an attendance of 60 people at its first meeting to about 300 at its next meeting in 1940.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Makiguchi, as did Nichiren, attributed the political troubles Japan was experiencing to supposedly false religious doctrines that held sway. His religious beliefs motivated him to take a stand against the government, earning him a reputation as a political dissident. He regarded Nichiren Buddhism as religious motivation for "active engagement to promote social good, even if it led to defiance of state authority". The organization soon attracted the attention of the authorities.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 1943, the group was instrumental in forcing Nichiren Shōshū to refuse a government-sponsored mandate to merge with Nichiren Shū, per the Religious Organizations Law which had been established in 1939. As the war progressed, the government had ordered that a talisman from the Shinto shrine should be placed in every home and temple. While the Nichiren Shōshū priesthood had been prepared to accept the placing of a talisman inside its head temple, Makiguchi and the Gakkai leadership had openly refused. During his prison interrogation by the Special Higher Police, Makiguchi claimed that his group had destroyed at least 500 of these amulets, a seditious act in those days.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 1942, a monthly magazine published by Makiguchi called "Kachi Sōzō" (, "Creating values") was shut down by the government, after only nine issues. Makiguchi, Toda, and 19 other leaders of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai were arrested on July 6, 1943, on charges of breaking the Peace Preservation Law and lèse-majesté: for "denying the Emperor's divinity" and "slandering" the Ise Grand Shrine. The details of Makiguchi's indictment and subsequent interrogation were covered in July, August, and October (1943) classified monthly bulletins of the Special Higher Police.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: With its leadership decimated, the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai disbanded. During interrogation, Makiguchi had insisted that "The emperor is an ordinary man ... the emperor makes mistakes like anyone else". The treatment in prison was harsh, and within a year, all but Makiguchi, Toda, and one more director had recanted and been released. On November 18, 1944, Makiguchi died of malnutrition in prison, at the age of 73.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Jōsei Toda was released from prison on July 3, 1945, after serving two years of imprisonment on the charges of lèse majesté. His health had been severely compromised and businesses destroyed. He immediately set out to rebuild the organization that had been repressed and dismantled by the government during the war. From this start, Toda served as the link between the movement's founder, Makiguchi, and Ikeda, who led its international evangelism.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: While imprisoned, Toda studied a passage for the Immeasurable meanings sutra (considered the introduction to the Lotus Sutra) that describes Buddhahood by means of 34 negations – for example, that it is "neither being nor non-being, this nor that, square nor round". From this, he concluded that "Buddha" is life, or life force.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The "philosophy of life" restates principles formulated by Nichiren: "three thousand conditions in a single moment" ("ichinen sanzen"), and "observing one's own mind" ("kanjin")


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The concept of life force is central to the Soka Gakkai's conception of the role of religion and the application of Nichiren's teachings. "Our health, courage, wisdom, joy, desire to improve, self-discipline, and so on, could all be said to depend on our life force," Ikeda says.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The groundwork for the organization's growth can be found in Toda's work during the years between his release from prison (1945) and his inauguration (1951). He officially re-established the organization, now under the shortened moniker "Sōka Gakkai" ("Value-creation society"), integrated his prison awakenings into the doctrine of the Soka Gakkai, began locating members who had dispersed during the war, started a series of lectures on the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren's letters, undertook business ventures (largely unsuccessful) to provide a stream of revenue for the organization, provided personal encouragement to many members, launched a monthly study magazine , and the newspaper "Seikyo Shimbun", launched propagation efforts, and involved the active participation of youth including Daisaku Ikeda who was to become his right-hand man and successor.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Brannen, a Christian missionary writing in 1969, describes the Soka Gakkai's study program at this point as "the most amazing program of indoctrination Japan has ever seen". New members attended local study lectures, subscribed to weekly and monthly periodicals, studied Toda's commentaries on the Lotus Sutra, took annual study examinations, and were awarded titles for their achievements such as Associate Lecturer, Lecturer, Associate Teacher, or Teacher.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: During "The Great Propagation Drive" of 1951–58 the Soka Gakkai doubled and tripled in size each year, resulting in a claimed membership of 750,000 families.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The drive began with the 1951 inauguration speech of Josei Toda when he assumed the presidency of the organization. Before 1,500 assembled members, Toda resolved to convert 750,000 families before his death. The goal was attained several months before Toda's death. The accuracy of this figure was never confirmed by outside sources. The primary vehicle of the propagation efforts were small group discussion meetings. The driving force behind the drive were the efforts of Daisaku Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai Youth Division. Segments of the Japanese population that had been marginalized or dislocated after the war were highly attracted to the movement. The success of the propagation efforts rocked traditional Japanese society; the press covered many extreme incidents of propagation but did not cover the many examples of conversion accomplished through "moral suasion".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: There are several competing narratives that attempt to explain how the Soka Gakkai was able to achieve this rapid growth. One narrative portrays a drive powered by the "seemingly unlimited enthusiasm" of its members that was masterminded by Toda and channeled by his younger followers. The organization's own publications articulate this narrative. Ikeda explained his own efforts to introduce others to the Soka Gakkai. Ikeda gives accounts of how the momentum for propagation was created in Kamata (1952) and Bunkyo (1953). In his autobiographical novel The Human Revolution, Ikeda discusses in detail how the propagation efforts unfolded in the Osaka-Kansai region (1956). Common to all three accounts were efforts sparked by individual members who enjoyed their practice, long-standing efforts to build friendships, home visitation, small group meetings, and the "guidance" provided by Toda. The resulting enthusiasm of members had an explosive effect. Seager and Strand document support for this narrative.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: A second narrative examines the Soka Gakkai's expansion through a sociological lens. White, in the first English-language sociological work on the Soka Gakkai, attributes the growth, cohesion, and sustainability of the organization to the organizational skills of its leaders, its system of values and norms that match the individual needs of members, and its ability to adapt to changing times. According to Dator, the organizational structure of the Soka Gakkai, which values individual participation within small heterogeneous groups and parallel peer associations by age, gender, and interests, fulfills members' socio-psychological needs.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: A third narrative tracks criticisms of the Soka Gakkai in the popular press and by other Buddhist sects. This narrative implies that the propagation efforts succeeded through intimidating and coercive actions committed by Soka Gakkai members such as the practice then of destroying the household Shinto altars of new members. There were reports of isolated incidents of violence conducted by Soka Gakkai members but also incidents directed toward them. Fisker-Nielsen doubts whether claimed tactics such as coercion and intimidation could satisfactorily explain the ongoing success of Soka Gakkai's campaigns.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: All scholars agree on the effectiveness of Toda and Ikeda's leadership throughout the Great Propagation Drive. Strand calls Toda "the most innovative, most dynamic, most successful religious leader of his day". More than charismatic or persuasive, he was effective due to his deep personal conviction that only the Soka Gakkai could renew a society in despair. He used both aggressive hyperbole and melodrama while at the same time cautioning overzealous followers to be sensible in their propagation efforts. Ikeda was the operational head of the propagation efforts, serving as a charter member of the executive staff of the Youth Division (1951) and later as Chief of Staff (1954).


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Toda died on April 2, 1958. The funeral was held at his home, but the coffin was afterwards carried past weeping, chanting crowds to the Ikebukuro temple Jozaiji, where he was buried. The then prime minister Nobusuke Kishi attended the funeral – something that scandalized "quite a few Japanese" but was a testament to how the Gakkai had grown to a force to be reckoned with under Toda.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Murata claims that for two years after Toda's death, there was a leadership vacuum and the Gakkai had no president, as it was unclear if anyone was able to replace him. Other scholars disagree, claiming Ikeda became the de facto leader of the Soka Gakkai right away. Three months after Toda's death Ikeda, at age 30, was appointed the organization's General Administrator, in 1959 he became the head of its board of directors, and, on May 3, 1960, its third president.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Jōsei Toda was succeeded as president in 1960 by the 32-year-old Daisaku Ikeda. Ikeda would come to be a moderating and secularizing force. Ikeda formally committed the organisation to the principles of free speech and freedom of religion and urged, from 1964, a gentler approach to proselytizing. Under Ikeda's leadership, the organization expanded rapidly, both inside and outside Japan during the 1960s.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Within the first 16 months of Ikeda's presendency the organization grew from 1,300,000 to 2,110,000 members. By 1967 it grew to 6,240,000 families according to its own reporting. In 1968 over 8,000,000 people contributed to the construction of the Sho-Hondo. Between 1961 and 1968 the organization's Study Department (members who sit for graded examinations on doctrinal matters) grew from 40,000 to 1,447,000. By 1968, under Ikeda's leadership, the daily "Seikyo Shimbun" newspaper attained a circulation of 3,580,000. Today, it has a circulation of 5.5 million copies, making it Japan's third largest daily.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In October 1960, five months after his inauguration, Ikeda and a small group of staff members visited the United States, Canada (Toronto), and Brazil. In the United States he visited Honolulu, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, New York, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, meeting with members, the vast majority Japanese war brides, at discussion and guidance meetings, setting up local organizations, and appointing leaders to take responsibility. He encouraged attendees to become good American citizens, learn English, and get driving licenses.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Ikeda also expanded the scope and pattern of the Gakkai's activities. In 1961 Ikeda created an arm of the organization, the Culture Bureau, to accommodate nonreligious activities. It had departments for the study and discussion of Economics, Politics, Education, Speech, and, later in the year, the Arts.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Ikeda and his team visited countries in Europe and Southeast Asia in 1961 and the Near and Middle East in 1962. By 1967 Ikeda had completed 13 trips abroad to strengthen the overseas organizations. Parallel to these efforts Ikeda attempted to find the universal aspects of Nichiren Buddhism stripped away from Japanese context.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Gakkai's first overseas mission, called "Nichiren Shoshu of America" (NSA), grew rapidly and claimed some 200,000 American adherents by 1970. Ikeda founded Soka Junior and Senior High Schools in 1968 and Soka University in 1971. "Soka Gakkai International" (SGI) was formally founded in 1975, on Guam.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 1961 Soka Gakkai formed the "Komei Political League". Seven of its candidates were elected to the House of Councillors. In 1964 the Komeito (Clean Government Party) was formed by Ikeda. Over the course of several elections it became the third largest political party, typically amassing 10–15% of the popular vote. The New Komeito Party was founded in 1998 and has been allied with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 1999. Religious scholar and political analyst Masaru Sato explains that there is nothing surprising about Komeito becoming a member of a ruling coalition as the Soka Gakkai has become a world religion (as SGI) and history shows a link between ruling coalitions and world religions. He explains that in postwar Japan there were two major parties, the Liberal Democratic Party representing financial interests and large corporations and the Japan Socialist Party largely advocating the interests of labor unions. There was no single party that represented people who belonged to neither such as shop owners, housewives, etc. Until the appearance of the Komeito Party, such people were left on the sidelines. In 2014 the New Komeito was renamed Komeito again. Komeito generally supports the policy agenda of the LDP, including the reinterpretation of the pacifist Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan, proposed in 2014 by LDP Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to allow "collective defense" and to fight in foreign conflicts.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 1969, a prominent university professor named Fujiwara Hirotatsu authored the book "I Denounce Soka Gakkai (Soka Gakkai o kiru)" in which he severely criticized the Gakkai. The Gakkai and Kōmeitō attempted to use their political power to suppress its publication. When Fujiwara went public with the attempted suppression, the Soka Gakkai was harshly criticized in the Japanese media.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In response, Ikeda made major shifts to the Gakkai's message. He committed the organization to the rights of free speech and freedom of religion. Admitting that the organization had been intolerant and overly sensitive in the past, Ikeda called for moderating conversion activities, openness to other religious practices, and a democratization of the organization. The Soka Gakkai's years of constant growth came to an end.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: On May 3, 1970, Ikeda gave a speech at the Soka Gakkai's 33rd general meeting which radically shifted the direction of the organization. He stated that Nichiren's message could be understood as absolute pacifism, the sanctity of human life, and respect for human dignity.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In the 1970s Ikeda helped transition the Soka Gakkai from an internally focused organization centered on its own membership growth to one adopting a focus on a motto of "Peace, Culture, and Education". On October 12, 1972, at the official opening of the Shohondo at Taiseki-ji Ikeda announced the start of the Soka Gakkai's "Phase Two" which would shift direction from aggressive expansion to a movement for international peace through friendship and exchange.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In the speech Ikeda also announced that Kōmeitō members who served in national and local assemblies would be removed from Soka Gakkai administrative posts. Ikeda renounced any plans to create a "national ordination platform".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Over the years the Soka Gakkai has matured under Ikeda's leadership and its values accord with progressive internationalism.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Ikeda initiated a series of dialogues with prominent political, cultural, and academic figures which he labeled "citizen diplomacy". In 1970 he held a dialogue with Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi centered on East-West issues and future directions the world could take. Ikeda conducted ten days of dialogue with Arnold J. Toynbee between 1972 and 1974 which resulted in the publication of the book "Choose Life". In 1974 he conducted a dialogue with André Malraux. Today, the number of his dialogues with scholars, leaders, activists and others has reached 7,000.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 1974 Ikeda visited China, then the Soviet Union, and once again to China when he met with Zhou Enlai. In 1975 Ikeda met with then Secretary-General of the United Nations Kurt Waldheim and United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Ikeda presented Waldheim with a petition, organized by Soka Gakkai youth, calling for nuclear abolition and signed by 10,000,000 people.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Generally speaking, Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shōshū worked in harmony before 1990, although there have been moments of tension. An early example of strained relations came during World War II, in 1943, when the Nichiren sect's headquarters at Taiseki-ji was willing to comply with Japanese government demands to enshrine a Shinto talisman of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu inside the temple. Makiguchi and Toda, on the other hand, angrily rebuked Taiseki-ji for doing so, and the two were jailed for refusing to do the same (Makiguchi would also die while in prison). Occasional tension thereafter existed between the two because Nichiren Shoshu viewed Soka Gakkai as ultimately a subordinate lay organization, whereas Soka Gakkai felt itself to be an independent organization which "had its own direct spiritual mandate" from Nichiren.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 1990, the Nichiren Shōshū administration excommunicated the Soka Gakkai with which it had been affiliated since 1952. In response, the Soka Gakkai countered by outlining Nichiren Shoshu's deviation from their own interpretation of Nichiren's doctrines, along with accusations of simony and hedonism among its ranking priests. The sect also condemned Ikeda for abandoning the aggressive propagation style (shakubuku) that led to some social criticism of the lay group, though not the priesthood.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The priesthood further accused the organization of impiety and sacrilegious behavior, citing the song "Ode to Joy" along with the promotion of its musical performance, "The Ninth Symphony" as evidence for non-Buddhist teachings.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 2014, the Soka Gakkai rewrote its bylaws to reflect that it no longer had any relationship with Nichiren Shoshu or its doctrine.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai practices what has been called ""Soka Humanism"", which it attributes to Lotus Sutra teaching that the "Buddha is life itself".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Accordingly, the organization also claims that the goal of human activity and religion is the welfare of human beings. Daisaku Ikeda writes:


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In May 1970, Daisaku Ikeda clarified the Soka Gakkai's role, transcending proselytizing, was to create a foundation of humanism in all aspects of society. In addition, the cultural endeavors of the Soka Gakkai are viewed by its adherents as expressions of Buddhist humanism and are aligned to creating a peaceful and more humane society.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In the 1970s, the Soka Gakkai began to re-conceptualize itself as an organization promoting the theme of "Peace, culture, and education."


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In later years, the three themes were institutionalized within the 1995 charter of the Soka Gakkai International.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The group's peace activities can be traced back to the Toda era – at an athletic meeting in 1957, Toda called for a complete ban on nuclear weapons. A 1975 petition drive against nuclear weapons by the Gakkai's youth division garnered 10 million signatures, and was handed over to the United Nations.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai was included in a collective Buddhist response to UNESCO's "Declaration on the Role of Religion in the Promotion of a Culture of Peace", established in Barcelona in December 1994. The Soka Gakkai's contribution to building a culture of peace is summarized by person-to-person diplomacy, the promotion of small community discussion meetings with egalitarian mores reflecting the Lotus tradition, the promotion of the values of compassion, wisdom, and courage to promote action to nurture world citizenship, and participation in cultural events to foster the culture of peace. Peace and human rights activists such as Dr. Lawrence Carter of Morehouse College and Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who partnered with the Soka Gakkai in various exhibits and presentations, praise the organization's efforts.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: SGI has been in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 1983. As an NGO working with the United Nations, SGI has been active in public education with a focus mainly on peace and nuclear weapons disarmament, human rights and sustainable development.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Each year, Ikeda publishes a peace proposal which examines global challenges in the light of Buddhist teachings. The proposals are specific and wide-ranging, covering topics as constructing a culture of peace, promoting the development of the United Nations, nuclear disarmament, the prohibition of child soldiers, the empowerment of women, the promotion of educational initiatives in schools such as human rights and sustainable development education, and calls to reawaken the human spirit and individual empowerment. The Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research has published a compilation of topical excerpts.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai uses its financial resources for a number of civic activities. As a non-governmental organization of the United Nations, it has participated in many activities and exhibitions in conjunction with the UN.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai has been active in public education with a focus mainly on peace and nuclear weapons disarmament, human rights and sustainable development. It has sponsored exhibits such as "A Culture of Peace For Children", which was featured in the lobby of the UN Building in New York and "Nuclear Arms: Threat to Our World". Soka Gakkai also contributed to The Earth Charter Initiative with the "Seeds of Change" exhibit, "a 'map' showing the way towards a sustainable lifestyle".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: SGI promotes environmental initiatives through educational activities such as exhibitions, lectures and conferences, and more direct activities such as tree planting projects and those of its Amazon Ecological Conservation Center run by SGI in Brazil. One scholar cites Daisaku Ikeda, SGI's president, to describe such initiatives as a Buddhist-based impetus for direct public engagement in parallel with legal efforts to address environmental concerns. In India, Bharat Soka Gakkai (SGI in India) debuted the traveling exhibit "Seeds of Hope", a joint initiative of SGI and Earth Charter International. At the exhibit opening in Panaji, the Indian state capital of Goa, regional planning head Edgar Ribeiro spoke of lagging efforts to implement environmental laws and that: "Only a people's movement can take sustainability forward." In Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College President Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok said that this exhibition helped "to create the awareness of the power of a single individual in bringing about waves of positive change to the environment, as well as the society."


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai has established multiple institutions and research facilities to promote its values of peace. The Institute of Oriental Philosophy (founded in 1962), among other goals, clarifies the essence of Buddhism to peace studies.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Amazon Ecological Research Center (founded by Ikeda in 1992) outside Manaus, Brazil has pioneered reforestation, the creation of a regional seed bank and experiments in agroforestry.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue (founded in 1993 as the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century), promotes dialogue between scholars and activists to prevent war and promote respect for life.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Toda Peace Institute (formerly called the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research) (founded in 1996) conducts peace-oriented international policy research through international conferences and frequent publications.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Soka Gakkai's pacifist stand has been questioned, along with the group's support of Komeito, without denying that the group is very active in "trying to establish the basis for world peace". In Japan, there is a widespread negative perception of SGI's pacifist movement, which is considered to be mere public relations for the group.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Nobel Peace and Chemistry Prize winner Linus Pauling has praised Daisaku Ikeda specifically for his work to foster a lasting worldwide peace.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Dr. Lawrence Carter, the chaplain at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College, considers the Soka Gakkai an important ally in getting the message of civil rights and non-violence to cultures beyond those that are Christian. He has said that Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai, with activities such as Victory Over Violence, have helped in his work to "revive the King legacy".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish rights organization, has also worked with the Soka Gakkai. Rabbi Abraham Cooper headed its efforts in the Pacific Rim, and in co-operation with the Soka Gakkai opened a Japanese version of the Center's Holocaust exhibit. Cooper said the organization's involvement actually improved the exhibit, and that through the Soka Gakkai, the Wiesenthal Center has found more partners in Japan.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai's subsidiary organizations also have a social presence. The Min-On Concert Association is a subsidiary of the Soka Gakkai which Ikeda established in 1963. It claims to sponsor over 1100 concerts each year. It has sponsored tours by international artists such as the La Scala Opera Company, about which Ikeda told Min-On's director that he "wanted average Japanese people to see first class art, even if we lost a lot of money".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Ikeda also founded the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum in 1983. It houses collections of western and oriental art, and has participated in exchanges with museums around the world.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Soka Gakkai considers dance and other genres of performance art to be a major aspect of its peace activities. It has a long tradition of "culture festivals", originating in the 1950s, which take the form of group gymnastics (through its world-famous gymnastic formations), marching bands, traditional ensembles, orchestras, ballet, or choral presentations. The Soka Gakkai perceives these activities as vehicles for its members to experience the skills of cooperating with others, opportunities to engage in the personal discipline that performing arts provide, and occasions to overcome obstacles and to undertake one's own "human revolution". They enhance peer networks and understanding of and commitment to the goals of the organization. In addition, they are viewed as expressions of Buddhist humanism and are aligned to the Soka Gakkai's ideals about creating a peaceful and more humane society.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The tradition, which began in Japan, has been copied in other Soka Gakkai organizations in the world.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The organization's musical and dance wings are organized into ensembles or groups in the local and national levels and are categorized as:


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The educational activities of the Soka Gakkai are often subsumed under the title of Soka education. Several educational institutions were either founded by the Soka Gakkai or were inspired by the educational writings of the Soka Gakkai's three presidents.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Formally, the Soka Gakkai International is the umbrella organization for all national organizations, while Soka Gakkai by itself refers to the Japanese arm. Soka Gakkai maintains an international political presence as a registered non-governmental organization with the United Nations.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The basic functional organizational unit is the Block – a group of members in a neighborhood who meet regularly for discussion, study and encouragement. A number of Blocks form a District, and Districts are grouped into Chapters. From there the Soka Gakkai is organized into Areas, Regions, Prefectures and, finally, Territories – all under the umbrella of the national organization. Discussion and study meetings, the basic organizational activities, are conducted mainly at the Block level, though there are occasional meetings held at every level.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Soka Gakkai has, together with its international offshoot Soka Gakkai International (SGI), been described as "the world's largest Buddhist lay group and America's most diverse". Soka Gakkai International claims a total of over 12 million adherents. The majority of these belong to the Japanese organization, whose official membership count is 8.27 million households.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In a 1996 NHK survey, it was found that Soka Gakkai adherent made up somewhere around 3.2% of the Japanese population, or somewhere around 4 million individuals. According to statistics from the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a body of the Japanese Ministry of Education), the Japanese organization had 5.42 million individual members in 2000.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In a 2002–2003 survey of 602 Soka Gakkai adherents living in Sapporo, Hokkaido who had at least one child over the age of 18, it was found that 65.9% of those members' adult children were also themselves active members. Additionally, it was found that among the siblings of 418 second-generation members, collectively speaking, 69.5% of all those siblings were also active members. A further analysis found that "higher degrees of parental religiosity, better family relationships, and higher levels of participation in youth groups" contributed to higher degrees of religiosity among Soka Gakkai children during middle school years, although this effect was more pronounced in women than in men.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: A study in Europe found that most of new members joined because of the personalities of the people they met within the organization; but the biggest reason for continuing is the positive changes they see in their own lives.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai's newspaper, the "Seikyo Shimbun", has a readership base of 5.5 million. "Forbes" magazine estimated that the organization has an income of at least $1.5 billion per year. Religion scholar Hiroshi Shimada has estimated the wealth of the Soka Gakkai at ¥500 billion.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: SGI's president, Daisaku Ikeda, has been described by journalist Teresa Watanabe as one of the most powerful and enigmatic individuals in Japan. A 1995 San Francisco "SFGate" article describes Ikeda as a "charismatic leader" who can display a violent temper in private. According to religious scholar Jane Hurst, there is no indication he has exploited his position and his home has been described as "modest".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai conducts humanitarian aid projects in disaster stricken regions. As an organization it is not only dedicated to personal spiritual development but also to engaged community service. After the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Soka Gakkai facilities became shelters for the displaced and storage centers for food and supplies for the victims. The relief effort also included community support by youth groups, global fundraising for the victims, and spiritual support. SGI-Chile members collected supplies to deliver to a relief center after the country's 2014 earthquake.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Today, Soka Gakkai is rarely criticized in mainstream news media. Ikeda occasionally contributes editorials to major newspapers, which also print reports on Gakkai business. Since the Komeito Party joined the ruling government coalition in 1999, widespread criticism by the media of the Soka Gakkai has abated and the Soka Gakkai is gaining acceptance as part of the Japanese mainstream. There has been a "fractured view" of the Soka Gakkai in Japan. On the one hand it is seen as a politically and socially engaged movement; on the other, it is still viewed with suspicion by some Japanese. James R. Lewis claims the Soka Gakkai's perception has suffered from sensationalist and often irresponsible treatment by the media even though the group has matured into a responsible member of society. Other scholars reject the cult label. Some scholars who utilize the Bryan R. Wilson typology of newly emerging denominations categorize it as "gnostic-manipulationist", a category of teachings holding that the world can improve as people master the right means and techniques to overcome their problems. According to Anne Mette Fisker-Nielsen, "Soka Gakkai's relentless, but highly successful, proselytizing in the 1950s stirred up fear in wider society. Soka Gakkai was portrayed by the mass media as aggressive even violent – although it is difficult to find evidence." Throughout the 1950s, the Soka Gakkai was a relatively radical movement that remained outside mainstream Japanese society, but since the foundation of the Komeito in the 1960s, it has considerably moderated its activities and has become a very mainstream movement, especially after the Komeito joined the coalition government in 1999.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Soka Gakkai has long been a subject of criticism in the Japanese weekly tabloid news/magazine press. Press criticism of the Soka Gakkai should be seen against the backdrop of negative press coverage of new religious movements in general. It is important to understand that Japanese journalism is unlike that of the West. Scholars point out that less than two percent of journalists in Japan have degrees in journalism. That plus feeble libel laws leave little recourse for the victims of malicious defamation. Associate Professor of Religion at Hamilton College, Richard Seager writes that it is time to cease being overly intrigued by the Soka Gakkai's history of controversy. "Over the course of a relatively short period, the Soka Gakkai moved from the margins of Japanese society into its mainstream."


title: Soka Gakkai

text: During the early postwar decades, the Soka Gakkai found itself embroiled in various controversies and appellations of "cult" and "cult of personality" have become attached to it. Claims of personality adulation towards Daisaku Ikeda is among the centerpoint of criticism from outsiders and former practitioners of the organization. Some criticism are also sourced from its former affiliate, Nichiren Shoshu who shared the same negative sentiment in 28 November 1991 citing claims of heresy.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Soka Gakkai stated that its characterisation as a cult was the result of negative and distorted media coverage.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Richard Hughes in 2006 and Mayumi Itoh in 2014 stated that Soka Gakkai's was no longer a cult, describing it as having matured, having progressive qualities, and calling its membership to be "excellent citizens". Criticism of the organization continues to exist, to which the organization describes its vision and structure as a continuing work of humanistic progress and continuous improvement.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Republic of Uruguay honored the 25th anniversary of the SGI's founding with a commemorative postage stamp. The stamp was issued on October 2, the anniversary of SGI President Ikeda's first overseas journey in 1960.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 2005, National Youth Council of Singapore award the youth of Soka Gakkai in Singapore for their "community and youth services" work.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: The Soka Gakkai of the Republic of Cuba (SGRC) attained juridical recognition in 2007, following an official visit of Daisaku Ikeda in 1996. It has a membership of approximately 500 individuals spread throughout most of the country's provinces.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 2008, Ikeda was a recipient of the Order of Friendship, a state-issued award of the Russian Federation bestowed on foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts were aimed at the betterment of relations with the Russian Federation and its people.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 2012, President Ma Ying-jeou of The Republic of China (Taiwan) commended the Taiwan Soka Association for many years of effort in the areas of public welfare, education, and religious teaching. He pointed out that it had received from the Taiwanese government numerous awards such as "National Outstanding Social Organization Award", the "Award for Contribution to Social Education", and "Outstanding Religious Organization Award".


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In 2015, Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi signed an agreement that recognizes the Soka Gakkai as a "Concordat" (It: "Intesa") that grants the religions status in "a special 'club' of denominations consulted by the government in certain occasions, allowed to appoint chaplains in the army – a concordat is not needed for appointing chaplains in hospitals and jails – and, perhaps more importantly, to be partially financed by taxpayers' money." Eleven other religious denominations share this status. In the same year, the Soka Gakkai constituent organization in the United States (SGI-USA) spearheaded the first "Buddhist Leaders' Summit" at the White House which was attended by 125 leaders and teachers from 63 different Buddhist communities and organizations.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: In India the Soka Gakkai is associated with a renewed interest in Buddhism among urban, upper middle class, English-speaking youth.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: Among the European new religious movements, the European Soka Gakkai organization is one of the most active participants in dialogues with the European Commission's Bureau of European Policy Advisors.


title: Soka Gakkai

text: While they are not all formally affiliated with the Soka Gakkai, there are a number of overseas institutions that perceived to be associated with the Soka Gakkai, or with Ikeda. These include the Ikeda Peace Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Toda Institute of Oriental Philosophy in Hawaii; and educational institutions in the United States, Brazil, Singapore, Malaysia and China.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Over the course of some fourteen centuries, the Romans and other peoples of Italy employed a system of nomenclature that differed from that used by other cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of a combination of personal and family names. Although conventionally referred to as the "tria nomina", the combination of praenomen, nomen, and cognomen that have come to be regarded as the basic elements of the Roman name in fact represent a continuous process of development, from at least the seventh century BC to the end of the seventh century AD. The names that developed as part of this system became a defining characteristic of Roman civilization, and although the system itself vanished during the Early Middle Ages, the names themselves exerted a profound influence on the development of European naming practices, and many continue to survive in modern languages.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The distinguishing feature of Roman nomenclature was the use of both personal names and regular surnames. Throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, other ancient civilizations distinguished individuals through the use of single personal names, usually dithematic in nature. Consisting of two distinct elements, or "themes", these names allowed for hundreds or even thousands of possible combinations. But a markedly different system of nomenclature arose in Italy, where the personal name was joined by a hereditary surname. Over time, this binomial system expanded to include additional names and designations.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The most important of these names was the "nomen gentilicium", or simply "nomen", a hereditary surname that identified a person as a member of a distinct gens. This was preceded by the praenomen, or "forename", a personal name that served to distinguish between the different members of a family. For example, a Roman named "Publius Lemonius" might have sons named "Publius", "Lucius", and "Gaius Lemonius". Here, "Lemonius" is the "nomen", identifying each person in the family as a member of the gens Lemonia; "Publius", "Lucius", and "Gaius" are praenomina used to distinguish between them.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The origin of this binomial system is lost in prehistory, but it appears to have been established in Latium and Etruria by at least 650 BC. In written form, the "nomen" was usually followed by a filiation, indicating the personal name of an individual's father, and sometimes the name of the mother or other antecedents. Toward the end of the Roman Republic, this was followed by the name of a citizen's voting tribe. Lastly, these elements could be followed by additional surnames, or cognomina, which could be either personal or hereditary, or a combination of both.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The Roman grammarians came to regard the combination of praenomen, nomen, and cognomen as a defining characteristic of Roman citizenship, known as the "tria nomina". However, although all three elements of the Roman name existed throughout most of Roman history, the concept of the "tria nomina" can be misleading, because not all of these names were required or used throughout the whole of Roman history. During the period of the Roman Republic, the praenomen and nomen represented the essential elements of the name; the cognomen first appeared among the Roman aristocracy at the inception of the Republic, but was not widely used among the plebeians, who made up the majority of the Roman people, until the second century BC. Even then, not all Roman citizens bore cognomina, and until the end of the Republic the cognomen was regarded as somewhat less than an official name. By contrast, in imperial times the cognomen became the principal distinguishing element of the Roman name, and although praenomina never completely vanished, the essential elements of the Roman name from the second century onward were the nomen and cognomen.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Naming conventions for women also varied from the classical concept of the "tria nomina". Originally Roman women shared the binomial nomenclature of men; but over time the praenomen became less useful as a distinguishing element, and women's praenomina were gradually discarded, or replaced by informal names. By the end of the Republic, the majority of Roman women either did not have or did not use praenomina. Most women were called by their nomen alone, or by a combination of nomen and cognomen. Praenomina could still be given when necessary, and as with men's praenomina the practice survived well into imperial times, but the proliferation of personal cognomina eventually rendered women's praenomina obsolete.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: In the later empire, members of the Roman aristocracy used several different schemes of assuming and inheriting nomina and cognomina, both to signify their rank, and to indicate their family and social connections. Some Romans came to be known by alternative names, or "signia", and due to the lack of surviving epigraphic evidence, the full nomenclature of most Romans, even among the aristocracy, is seldom recorded.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Thus, although the three types of names referred to as the "tria nomina" existed throughout Roman history, the period during which the majority of citizens possessed exactly three names was relatively brief. Nevertheless, because most of the important individuals during the best-recorded periods of Roman history possessed all three names, the "tria nomina" remains the most familiar conception of the Roman name.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: For a variety of reasons, the Roman nomenclature system broke down in the centuries following the collapse of imperial authority in the west. The praenomen had already become scarce in written sources during the fourth century, and by the fifth century it was retained only by the most conservative elements of the old Roman aristocracy, such as the Aurelii Symmachi. Over the course of the sixth century, as Roman institutions and social structures gradually fell away, the need to distinguish between nomina and cognomina likewise vanished. By the end of the seventh century, the people of Italy and western Europe had reverted to single names. But many of the names that had originated as part of the "tria nomina" were adapted to this usage, and survived into modern times.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: As in other cultures, the early peoples of Italy probably used a single name, which later developed into the praenomen. Marcus Terentius Varro wrote that the earliest Italians used simple names. Names of this type could be honorific or aspirational, or might refer to deities, physical peculiarities, or circumstances of birth. In this early period, the number of personal names must have been quite large; but with the development of additional names the number in widespread use dwindled. By the early Republic, about three dozen Latin praenomina remained in use, some of which were already rare; about eighteen were used by the patricians. Barely a dozen praenomina remained in general use under the Empire, although aristocratic families sometimes revived older praenomina, or created new ones from cognomina.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The development of the nomen as the second element of the Italic name cannot be attributed to a specific period or culture. From the earliest period it was common to both the Indo-European speaking Italic peoples and the Etruscans. The historian Livy relates the adoption of "Silvius" as a nomen by the kings of Alba Longa in honour of their ancestor, Silvius. As part of Rome's foundation myth, this statement cannot be regarded as historical fact, but it does indicate the antiquity of the period to which the Romans themselves ascribed the adoption of hereditary surnames.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: In Latin, most nomina were formed by adding an adjectival suffix, usually "-ius", to the stem of an existing word or name. Frequently this required a joining element, such as "-e-, -id-, -il-", or "-on-". Many common nomina arose as patronymic surnames; for instance, the nomen "Marcius" was derived from the praenomen "Marcus", and originally signified "Marci filius", "son of Marcus". In the same way, "Sextius", "Publilius", and "Lucilius" arose from the praenomina "Sextus", "Publius", and "Lucius". This demonstrates that, much like later European surnames, the earliest nomina were not necessarily hereditary, but might be adopted and discarded at will, and changed from one generation to the next. The practice from which these patronymics arose also gave rise to the filiation, which in later times, once the nomen had become fixed, nearly always followed the nomen. Other nomina were derived from names that later came to be regarded as cognomina, such as "Plancius" from "Plancus" or "Flavius" from "Flavus"; or from place-names, such as "Norbanus" from "Norba".


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The binomial name consisting of "praenomen" and "nomen" eventually spread throughout Italy. Nomina from different languages and regions often have distinctive characteristics; Latin nomina tended to end in "-ius, -us, -aius, -eius, -eus", or "-aeus", while Oscan names frequently ended in "-is" or "-iis"; Umbrian names in "-as, -anas, -enas", or "-inas", and Etruscan names in "-arna, -erna, -ena, -enna, -ina", or "-inna". Oscan and Umbrian forms tend to be found in inscriptions; in Roman literature these names are often Latinized.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Many individuals added an additional surname, or "cognomen", which helped to distinguish between members of larger families. Originally these were simply personal names, which might be derived from a person's physical features, personal qualities, occupation, place of origin, or even an object with which a person was associated. Some cognomina were derived from the circumstance of a person's adoption from one family into another, or were derived from foreign names, such as when a freedman received a Roman praenomen and nomen. Other cognomina commemorated important events associated with a person; a battle in which a man had fought (Regillensis), a town captured (Coriolanus); or a miraculous occurrence (Corvus). The late grammarians distinguished certain cognomina as "agnomina".


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Although originally a personal name, the cognomen frequently became hereditary, especially in large families, or "gentes", in which they served to identify distinct branches, known as "stirpes". Some Romans had more than one cognomen, and in aristocratic families it was not unheard of for individuals to have as many as three, of which some might be hereditary and some personal. These surnames were initially characteristic of patrician families, but over time cognomina were also acquired by the plebeians. However, a number of distinguished plebeian gentes, such as the Antonii and the Marii, were never divided into different branches, and in these families cognomina were the exception rather than the rule.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Cognomina are known from the beginning of the Republic, but were long regarded as informal names, and omitted from most official records before the second century BC. Later inscriptions commemorating the early centuries of the Republic supply these missing surnames, although the authenticity of some of them has been disputed. Under the Empire, however, the cognomen acquired great importance, and the number of cognomina assumed by the Roman aristocracy multiplied exponentially.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Adding to the complexity of aristocratic names was the practice of combining the full nomenclature of both one's paternal and maternal ancestors, resulting in some individuals appearing to have two or more complete names. Duplicative or politically undesirable names might be omitted, while the order of names might be rearranged to emphasize those giving the bearer the greatest prestige.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Following the promulgation of the "Constitutio Antoniniana" in AD 212, granting Roman citizenship to all free men living within the Roman Empire, the praenomen and nomen lost much of their distinguishing function, as all of the newly enfranchised citizens shared the name of "Marcus Aurelius". The praenomen and sometimes the nomen gradually disappeared from view, crowded out by other names indicating the bearer's rank and social connections. Surviving inscriptions from the fifth century rarely provide a citizen's full nomenclature.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: In the final centuries of the Empire, the traditional nomenclature was sometimes replaced by alternate names, known as "signa". In the course of the sixth century, as central authority collapsed and Roman institutions disappeared, the complex forms of Roman nomenclature were abandoned altogether, and the people of Italy and western Europe reverted to single names. Modern European nomenclature developed independently of the Roman model during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. However, many modern names are derived from Roman originals.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The three types of names that have come to be regarded as quintessentially Roman were the "praenomen, nomen", and "cognomen". Together, these were referred to as the "tria nomina". Although not all Romans possessed three names, the practice of using multiple names having different functions was a defining characteristic of Roman culture that distinguished citizens from foreigners.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The praenomen was a true personal name, chosen by a child's parents, and bestowed on the "dies lustricius", or "day of lustration", a ritual purification performed on the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy. Normally all of the children in a family would have different praenomina. Although there was no law restricting the use of specific praenomina, the choice of the parents was usually governed by custom and family tradition. An eldest son was usually named after his father, and younger sons were named after their father's brothers or other male ancestors. In this way, the same praenomina were passed down in a family from one generation to the next. Not only did this serve to emphasize the continuity of a family across many generations, but the selection of praenomina also distinguished the customs of one gens from another. The patrician gentes in particular tended to limit the number of praenomina that they used far more than the plebeians, which was a way of reinforcing the exclusiveness of their social status.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Of course, there were many exceptions to these general practices. A son might be named in honour of one of his maternal relatives, thus bringing a new name into the gens. Because some gentes made regular use of only three or four praenomina, new names might appear whenever a family had more than three or four sons. Furthermore, a number of the oldest and most influential patrician families made a habit of choosing unusual names; in particular the Fabii, Aemilii, Furii, Claudii, Cornelii, and Valerii all used praenomina that were uncommon amongst the patricians, or which had fallen out of general use. In the last two centuries of the Republic, and under the early Empire, it was fashionable for aristocratic families to revive older praenomina.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: About three dozen Latin praenomina were in use at the beginning of the Republic, although only about eighteen were common. This number fell gradually, until by the first century AD, about a dozen praenomina remained in widespread use, with a handful of others used by particular families. The origin and use of praenomina was a matter of curiosity to the Romans themselves; in "De Praenominibus", Probus discusses a number of older praenomina and their meanings. Most praenomina were regularly abbreviated, and rarely written in full. Other praenomina were used by the Oscan, Umbrian, and Etruscan-speaking peoples of Italy, and many of these also had regular abbreviations. Lists of praenomina used by the various people of Italy, together with their usual abbreviations, can be found at praenomen.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Roman men were usually known by their praenomina to members of their family and household, "clientes" and close friends; but outside of this circle, they might be called by their nomen, cognomen, or any combination of praenomen, nomen, and cognomen that was sufficient to distinguish them from other men with similar names. In the literature of the Republic, and on all formal occasions, such as when a senator was called upon to speak, it was customary to address a citizen by praenomen and nomen; or, if this were insufficient to distinguish him from other members of the gens, by praenomen and cognomen.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: In imperial times, the praenomen became increasingly confused by the practices of the aristocracy. The emperors usually prefixed "Imperator" to their names as a praenomen, while at the same time retaining their own praenomina; but because most of the early emperors were legally adopted by their predecessors, and formally assumed new names, even these were subject to change. Several members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty exchanged their original praenomina for cognomina, or received cognomina in place of praenomina at birth. An emperor might emancipate or enfranchise large groups of people at once, all of whom would automatically receive the emperor's praenomen and nomen. Yet another common practice beginning in the first century AD was to give multiple sons the same praenomen, and distinguish them using different cognomina; by the second century this was becoming the rule, rather than the exception. Another confusing practice was the addition of the full nomenclature of maternal ancestors to the basic "tria nomina", so that a man might appear to have two praenomina, one occurring in the middle of his name.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Under the weight of these practices and others, the utility of the praenomen to distinguish between men continued to decline, until only the force of tradition prevented its utter abandonment. Over the course of the third century, praenomina become increasingly scarce in written records, and from the fourth century onward their appearance becomes exceptional. The descendants of those who had been granted citizenship by the "Constitutio Antoniniana" seem to have dispensed with praenomina altogether, and by the end of the western empire, only the oldest Roman families continued to use them.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The "nomen gentilicium", or "gentile name", designated a Roman citizen as a member of a gens. A gens, which may be translated as "race", "family", or "clan", constituted an extended Roman family, all of whom shared the same nomen, and claimed descent from a common ancestor. Particularly in the early Republic, the gens functioned as a state within the state, observing its own sacred rites, and establishing private laws, which were binding on its members, although not on the community as a whole.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The cognomen, the third element of the "tria nomina", began as an additional personal name. It was not unique to Rome, but Rome was where the cognomen flourished, as the development of the gens and the gradual decline of the praenomen as a useful means of distinguishing between individuals made the cognomen a useful means of identifying both individuals and whole branches of Rome's leading families. In the early years of the Republic, some aristocratic Romans had as many as three cognomina, some of which were hereditary, while others were personal.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Like the nomen, cognomina could arise from any number of factors: personal characteristics, habits, occupations, places of origin, heroic exploits, and so forth. One class of cognomina consisted largely of archaic praenomina that were seldom used by the later Republic, although as cognomina these names persisted throughout Imperial times. Many cognomina had unusual terminations for Latin names, ending in "-a, -o", or "-io", and their meanings were frequently obscure, even in antiquity; this seems to emphasize the manner in which many cognomina originally arose from nicknames. The "-ius" termination typical of Latin nomina was generally not used for cognomina until the fourth century AD, making it easier to distinguish between nomina and cognomina until the final centuries of the western empire.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Unlike the nomen, which was passed down unchanged from father to son, cognomina could appear and disappear almost at will. They were not normally chosen by the persons who bore them, but were earned or bestowed by others, which may account for the wide variety of unflattering names that were used as cognomina. Doubtless some cognomina were used ironically, while others continued in use largely because, whatever their origin, they were useful for distinguishing among individuals and between branches of large families. New cognomina were coined and came into fashion throughout Roman history.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Under the Empire, the number of cognomina increased dramatically. Where once only the most noble patrician houses used multiple surnames, Romans of all backgrounds and social standing might bear several cognomina. By the third century, this had become the norm amongst freeborn Roman citizens. The question of how to classify different cognomina led the grammarians of the fourth and fifth centuries to designate some of them as "agnomina".


title: Roman naming conventions

text: For most of the Republic, the usual manner of distinguishing individuals was through the binomial form of praenomen and nomen. But as the praenomen lost its value as a distinguishing name, and gradually faded into obscurity, its former role was assumed by the versatile cognomen, and the typical manner of identifying individuals came to be by nomen and cognomen; essentially one form of binomial nomenclature was replaced by another, over the course of several centuries. The very lack of regularity that allowed the cognomen to be used as either a personal or a hereditary surname became its strength in imperial times; as a hereditary surname, a cognomen could be used to identify an individual's connection with other noble families, either by descent, or later by association. Individual cognomina could also be used to distinguish between members of the same family; even as siblings came to share the same praenomen, they bore different cognomina, some from the paternal line, and others from their maternal ancestors.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Although the nomen was a required element of Roman nomenclature down to the end of the western empire, its usefulness as a distinguishing name declined throughout imperial times, as an increasingly large portion of the population bore nomina such as "Flavius" or "Aurelius", which had been granted "en masse" to newly enfranchised citizens. As a result, by the third century the cognomen became the most important element of the Roman name, and frequently the only one that was useful for distinguishing between individuals. In the later empire, the proliferation of cognomina was such that the full nomenclature of most individuals was not recorded, and in many cases the only names surviving in extant records are cognomina.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: By the sixth century, traditional Roman cognomina were frequently prefixed by a series of names with Christian religious significance. As Roman institutions vanished, and the distinction between nomen and cognomen ceased to have any practical importance, the complex system of cognomina that developed under the later empire faded away. The people of the western empire reverted to single names, which were indistinguishable from the cognomina that they replaced; many former praenomina and nomina also survived in this way.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The proliferation of cognomina in the later centuries of the Empire led some grammarians to classify certain types as "agnomina". This class included two main types of cognomen: the "cognomen ex virtute", and cognomina that were derived from nomina, to indicate the parentage of Romans who had been adopted from one gens into another. Although these names had existed throughout Roman history, it was only in this late period that they were distinguished from other cognomina.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The "cognomen ex virtute" was a surname derived from some virtuous or heroic episode attributed to the bearer. Roman history is filled with individuals who obtained cognomina as a result of their exploits: Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis, who commanded the Roman army at the Battle of Lake Regillus; Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, who captured the city of Corioli; Marcus Valerius Corvus, who defeated a giant Gaul in single combat, aided by a raven; Titus Manlius Torquatus, who likewise defeated a Gaulish giant, and took his name from the torque that he claimed as a prize; Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, who carried the Second Punic War to Africa, and defeated Hannibal. Interestingly, the most famous examples of this class of cognomen come from the period of the Republic, centuries before the concept of the "agnomen" was formulated.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Adoption was a common and formal process in Roman culture. Its chief purpose had nothing to do with providing homes for children; it was about ensuring the continuity of family lines that might otherwise become extinct. In early Rome, this was especially important for the patricians, who enjoyed tremendous status and privilege compared with the plebeians. Because few families were admitted to the patriciate after the expulsion of the kings, while the number of plebeians continually grew, the patricians continually struggled to preserve their wealth and influence. A man who had no sons to inherit his property and preserve his family name would adopt one of the younger sons from another family. In time, as the plebeians also acquired wealth and gained access to the offices of the Roman state, they too came to participate in the Roman system of adoption.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Since the primary purpose of adoption was to preserve the name and status of the adopter, an adopted son would usually assume both the praenomen and nomen of his adoptive father, together with any hereditary cognomina, just as an eldest son would have done. However, adoption did not result in the complete abandonment of the adopted son's birth name. The son's original nomen (or occasionally cognomen) would become the basis of a new surname, formed by adding the derivative suffix "-anus" or "-inus" to the stem. Thus, when a son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus was adopted by Publius Cornelius Scipio, he became Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus; in his will, the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar adopted his grandnephew, Gaius Octavius, who became known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Apart from the praenomen, the "filiation" was the oldest element of the Roman name. Even before the development of the nomen as a hereditary surname, it was customary to use the name of a person's father as a means of distinguishing him or her from others with the same personal name, like a patronymic; thus Lucius, the son of Marcus, would be "Lucius, Marci filius"; Paulla, the daughter of Quintus, would be "Paulla, Quinti filia". Many nomina were derived in the same way, and most praenomina have at least one corresponding nomen, such as Lucilius, Marcius, Publilius, Quinctius, or Servilius. These are known as patronymic surnames, because they are derived from the name of the original bearer's father. Even after the development of the nomen and cognomen, filiation remained a useful means of distinguishing between members of a large family.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Filiations were normally written between the nomen and any cognomina, and abbreviated using the typical abbreviations for praenomina, followed by for "filius" or "filia", and sometimes for "nepos" (grandson) or "neptis" (granddaughter). Thus, the inscription means "Spurius Postumius Albus Regillensis, of Aulus the son, of Publius the grandson". "Tiberius Aemilius Mamercinus, the son of Lucius and grandson of Mamercus" would be written . The more formal the writing, the more generations might be included; a great-grandchild would be or for "pronepos" or "proneptis", a great-great-grandchild or for "abnepos" or "abneptis", and a great-great-great-grandchild "adnepos" or "adneptis". However, these forms are rarely included as part of a name, except on the grandest of monumental inscriptions.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: The filiation sometimes included the name of the mother, in which case "gnatus" would follow the mother's name, instead of "filius" or "filia". This is especially common in families of Etruscan origin. The names of married women were sometimes followed by the husband's name and "uxor" for "wife". means "Numerius Fabius Maximus, son of Quintus, grandson of Marcus, born of Furia", while would be "Claudia, wife of Lucius Valerius".


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Slaves and freedmen also possessed filiations, although in this case the person referred to is usually the slave's owner, rather than his or her father. The abbreviations here include for "servus" or "serva" and for "libertus" or "liberta". A slave might have more than one owner, in which case the names could be given serially. In some cases the owner's nomen or cognomen was used instead of or in addition to the praenomen. The "liberti" of women sometimes used an inverted "C", signifying the feminine praenomen "Gaia", here used generically to mean any woman; and there are a few examples of an inverted "M", although it is not clear whether this was used generically, or specifically for the feminine praenomen "Marca" or "Marcia".


title: Roman naming conventions

text: An example of the filiation of slaves and freedmen would be: , "Alexander, slave of Lucius Cornelius", who upon his emancipation would probably become , "Lucius Cornelius Alexander, freedman of Lucius"; it was customary for a freedman to take the praenomen of his former owner, if he did not already have one, and to use his original personal name as a cognomen. Another example might be , "Salvia Pompeia, freedwoman of Gnaeus (Pompeius) and Gaia"; here "Gaia" is used generically, irrespective of whether Pompeius' wife was actually named "Gaia". A freedman of the emperor might have the filiation , "Augusti libertus".


title: Roman naming conventions

text: Although filiation was common throughout the history of the Republic and well into imperial times, no law governed its use or inclusion in writing. It was used by custom and for convenience, but could be ignored or discarded, as it suited the needs of the writer.


title: Roman naming conventions

text: From the beginning of the Roman Republic, all citizens were enumerated in one of the tribes making up the "comitia tributa", or "tribal assembly". This was the most democratic of Rome's three main legislative assemblies of the Roman Republic, in that all citizens could participate on an equal basis, without regard to wealth or social status. Over time, its decrees (known as "plebi scita", or "plebiscites") became binding on the whole Roman people. Although much of the assembly's authority was usurped by the emperors, membership in a tribe remained an important part of Roman citizenship, so that the name of the tribe came to be incorporated into a citizen's full nomenclature.