Session 1: Buddhism and Action—On Violence and Peace

Women’s Roles in a World Without Nuclear Weapons

Toshie Kurihara

1. Introduction

T

HE year 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second
World War and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In
response to this occasion, several significant international conferences
for nuclear disarmament, including the review conference on the Treatyof the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons were held around theworld.
In Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only places to have experienced thewartime use of nuclear weapons, several commemorative events, symposiums and lectures were organized. On August 6, a symposium on the70th anniversary of the atomic bomb “WAR NEVER AGAIN” was heldin Hiroshima. Many religious figures, Diet members, experts on nuclear
abolishment and citizens of Hiroshima have gathered.
In November, a meeting between scientists and religious leaders in
the anti-nuclear weapons movement was held at the Nagasaki CatholicCenter, on the day following the 51st Pugwash Conference, aimed ateliminating nuclear weapons and wars. The meeting was organized by
the World Conference of Religions for Peace Japan and the Nagasaki
Religious Association. Some 120 people attended, including citizens ofNagasaki. Participants pledged to work together to abolish nuclear
weapons. Religious figures, namely the head of the Jodo Shinshu (theTrue Pure Land Sect of Buddhism) temple, delivered speeches on peace.
In addition, the antinuclear forum, “The 70th Anniversary of the Atomic
Bombing: Gender Forum in Hiroshima” was also held in December.
It is safe to say that the realization of a world without nuclear weapons is the ardent desire of all humanity, thus making the role of religions
increasingly significant. Today, I would like to introduce the activities
of Soka Gakkai and Soka Gakkai International (SGI), and to examine
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women’s roles in a world without nuclear weapons

especially the activities of women who have been actively engaged inantinuclear movements.

2. Origin of the SGI’s Peace Movement—Josei Toda’s“Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear
Weapons”
On September 8, 1957, the second president of Soka Gakkai, Josei Toda,
made a public declaration calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons,
which initiated the SGI’s Antinuclear Weapons Movement. In his declaration, he stated:
Although a movement calling for a ban on the testing of atomic or
nuclear weapons has arisen around the world, it is my wish to go further, to attack the problem at its root. I want to expose and rip out theclaws that lie hidden in the very depths of such weapons. I wish to
declare that anyone who ventures to use nuclear weapons, irrespectiveof their nationality or whether their country is victorious or defeated,should be sentenced to death without exception. Why do I say this?
Because we, the citizens of the world, have an inviolable right to live.
Anyone who jeopardizes that right is a devil incarnate, a fiend, a monster.1

On September 8, 2009, 52 years after Josei Toda’s declaration was issued, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda presented a lecture entitled, “Sharedefforts toward nuclear abolition” to celebrate second president Toda’s
110th anniversary. In his lecture, he remarked:
In an earlier era, when the competition to develop larger and more
deadly nuclear arsenals was escalating, my mentor Josei Toda issued ahistoric call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Toda delivered the speech in which this declaration was issued justseven months before his death, at a time when his health was extremely
frail. It was, in fact, 52 year ago today, on September 8, 1957, that Toda
addressed a gathering of some 50,000 people, principally young people,
and declared the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons from the faceof Earth to be the foremost of his instructions to his followers.
In light of present-day realities, I think that three themes of particular
relevance can be extracted from this speech. These are: the need for atransformation in the consciousness of political leaders; the need for aclearly shared vision toward the outlawing of nuclear weapons; and thewomen’s roles in a world without nuclear weapons

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need to establish “human security” on a global scale.
Regarding the first theme, Toda stated: “We, the citizens of the world,
have an inviolable right to live. Anyone who jeopardizes that right is adevil incarnate, a fiend, a monster.” This was a striking condemnation of
the national egotism that underlies the urge to develop and possess
nuclear weapons. With this very strong language, he sought to jolt political leaders out of their existing way of thinking and encourage a transformation in their worldview. While we may find such expressions as“devil incarnate,” “fiend” or “monster” disconcerting, Toda’s main
intent in the use of such language was to expose the aberrant nature of
nuclear deterrence. For at the heart of deterrence theory lies a cold andinhuman readiness to sacrifice vast numbers of people in order to realize
one’s own security or dominance. He was, at the same time, pressing
political leaders to reflect on their assumptions and attitudes.
...The second theme of Toda’s declaration is his assertion of theabsolute inadmissibility of the use of nuclear weapons, whatever therationale or justification. Here again, he used very strong language: “Iwish to declare that anyone who ventures to use nuclear weapons,irrespective of their nationality or whether their country is victorious or
defeated, should be sentenced to death without exception.”...
...The third theme of Toda’s declaration is expressed figuratively withthis language: “Although a movement calling for a ban on the testing ofatomic or nuclear weapons has arisen around the world, it is my wish togo further, to attack the problem at its root. I want to expose and rip out
the claws that lie hidden in the very depths of such weapons.” My
understanding of my mentor’s declaration is that the “hidden claws”
underlying nuclear weapons represent any conception of security predicated on the suffering and sacrifice of ordinary citizens. He is urging us
to confront and extirpate such ways of thinking because, without this,no solution is possible...2

President Ikeda then expressed his strong determination to eliminate
nuclear weapons as follows:
Toda concluded with these words: “I ask those who consider themselves
to be my students and disciples, to be heirs to the spirit of the declaration I have made today, and to make its meaning known throughout theentire world.” These words, which were burned into my mind that day,have remained with me and have inspired my actions in the more thanhalf-century that has passed since then. I have never for even a single
day forgotten his stirring call to action and have worked tirelessly to24

women’s roles in a world without nuclear weapons

create a rising tide of public opinion in favor of nuclear abolition....
In this way, we have taken action over the past five decades to bringthe underlying spirit of Toda’s call for nuclear abolition to the world andto generate a groundswell of popular opinion, making it the prevailingspirit of the new era. We are determined to continue to build a global
solidarity toward the goal of a world free from nuclear weapons....
Let us abandon the habit of studiously ignoring the menace posed to
Earth by nuclear weapons and instead demonstrate—clearly andthrough the power of people—that a world without nuclear weapons canindeed be realized in our lifetime.3

These statements by SGI President Ikeda provide an example of how
he sees the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. Buddhism teaches that what
underlies the lives of human beings and nature is a principle that
we might call “universal life.” It was in this light that he stressed how
nuclear weapons are the ultimate evil that destroys everything.

3. SGI’s Antinuclear Weapons Movement
Soka Gakkai succeeded Toda and has continued ever since to carry out
activities, including exhibitions, petition drives, and publications for theelimination of nuclear weapons.4
In 1982, Soka Gakkai launched the “Nuclear Arms: Threat to Our
World” exhibition with the support of the United Nations Department of
Public Information and the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It firstpresented at the UN Headquarters in New York, touring a total of 29 cities in 24 countries to date. Exhibits on display included photographs of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombing, and items exposed to atomic radiation, reflecting the horror of the atomic bomb which had a significant impact on the decision to initiate the “Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament” at the UN Special Session on Disarmament conducted in
the same year.
The exhibition toured cities in countries using nuclear power, including Beijing, Moscow, Vienna, Paris and Berlin. This helped to galvanize
public opinion in countries with different ideologies and social systems.
The exhibition attracted more than 170,000 visitors from around theworld, creating a global grassroots network in support of nuclear arms
reduction.
Another exhibition, “From a Culture of Violence to a Culture ofPeace: Transforming the Human Spirit” was launched in 2007. This
exhibition was created in commemoration of the 50th anniversary ofwomen’s roles in a world without nuclear weapons

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Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda’s Declaration Calling for the
Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, stressing the necessity of transforming
the human spirit in order to abolish nuclear weapons. It has been viewed
at several places in Japan, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, andtoured venues overseas, including showings at the UN Office at Geneva.
As for the petition drive, Soka Gakkai had gathered 10 million signatures for the abolishment of nuclear weapons and presented them to the
UN Headquarters in New York in 1975. In 1998, Soka Gakkai also
launched “Abolition 2000,” a petition drive aiming to abolish nuclear
weapons with the support of a global network to develop a treaty toeliminate nuclear weapons within a time-bound framework. Between
the fall 1997 and the fall 1998, Soka Gakkai gathered over 130,000 signatures, and submitted them to the UN Headquarters in New York in
response to an activity initiated by Dr. David Krieger, the founder andpresident of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.
Soka Gakkai also organized a petition drive for a Nuclear Weapons
Convention (NWC) in 2010, which was led by youth members of the
Soka Gakkai in response to SGI President Ikeda’s antinuclear proposal
issued in September 2009. In total, 2,270,000 signatures were collected
and presented to the UN in May 2010. As a result, NWC was discussed
for the first time at the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons held in the same month.
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings ofHiroshima and Nagasaki, youth representatives from 23 countries who
are actively engaged in peace activities gathered in Hiroshima to attend
an “International Youth Summit for Nuclear Abolition” in August lastyear. Sponsors of the summit included the City of Hiroshima andNagasaki, the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation and International
Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Between the sessions,
youth representatives from around the world visited the peace memorialpark, the atomic bomb museum, and renewed their determination toeliminate nuclear weapons.
In addition, in conjunction with the International Meeting for Interfaith Dialogue and World Peace, Antinuclear Exhibition: “Everything
You Treasure—For a World Free From Nuclear Weapons” was held last
October in Havana, Cuba. Since it was officially launched at the World
Congress of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear
War (IPPNW) in Hiroshima in August 2012, the exhibition has been
touring around the world. Some 450 people, including religious figures,
attended the opening ceremony. As can be seen from the above examples, SGI has been engaged in activities to eliminate nuclear weapons all

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women’s roles in a world without nuclear weapons

over the world to succeed in fulfilling second President Josei Toda’svision.
In response, many members and non-members of SGI have expressed
their support and high expectations for SGI activities. Betty Reardo, thefounding director emeritus of the International Institute on Peace Education, commented that there is so much to learn from SGI President
Ikeda’s proposals for nuclear arms reduction in his annual peace proposals for the UN. By studying his proposals, she said, youth can build afoundation to contribute to world peace. By learning from each otherand supporting each other as global citizens, we can make a great contribution to the abolishment of nuclear weapons. She encouraged those
who gathered there to build a new world, one without nuclear weapons,a world that cannot be destroyed by weapons, a world not bound by thefear of annihilation. In conclusion, she expressed her conviction thateveryone’s efforts to abolish nuclear weapons would bear fruit in the
future.5

4. Women’s Activities—Focusing the Soka Gakkai Women’s
Peace Committee Movement
One especially remarkable aspect of the SGI’s peace movement is how
actively its women are engaged in peacemaking. Needless to say, creating peace is a challenge that both men and women need to be engaged in
together. Since women are, however, more likely to work at home andoften play a more direct role in caring for their families, they are better
positioned to create new options for how society should be. Nevertheless, traditionally, women tend to be marginalized, and their ideas,
opinions and actions frequently go unnoticed.
SGI President Ikeda pointed out this problem in his peace proposal in2000 as follows:
I would especially like to stress the role that women can play in creating
a culture of peace. Throughout the long history of humanity, women
have suffered the most whenever society has been wracked by war, violence, oppression, abuse of human rights, disease and famine. It has
been women, in spite of this, who have persevered in turning society inthe direction of good, in the direction of hope and in the direction ofpeace.6

He continued:

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It is equally essential to work to create in concrete, tangible ways aculture of peace in daily life. Elise Boulding, a renowned peace studies
scholar, stresses that cultures of peace are to be found in eachindividual’s process of tenaciously continuing peace-oriented behavior.
She attaches particular importance to women’s roles in this aspect.
Peace is not something to be left to others in distant places. It is something we create day to day in our efforts to cultivate care andconsideration for others, forging bonds of friendship and trust in our
respective communities through our own actions and example. As weenhance our respect for the sanctity of life and human dignity throughour daily behavior and steady efforts toward dialogue, the foundations
for a culture of peace will deepen and strengthen, allowing a new global
civilization to blossom.7

As illustrated above, President Ikeda has great expectations for women
to strengthen the relations between people through dialogue and expand
their communities of trust.
In his Peace Proposal 2010, President Ikeda also noted that SGI has
been promoting women’s engagement in the society. He wrote:
Women face many challenges and threats. Broader opportunities foreducation can empower them to stand up as self-reliant actors, able tobreak through crises and redirect their lives and societies toward thebetter future they envision. Planting the seeds of empowerment now will
make this a reality. One hundred years ago, when the social standingof women in Japan was extremely low, the founding president of the
Soka Gakkai, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, worked passionately to expand
advanced educational opportunities for women out of the belief that itis they who will build a better society...Women play a pivotal role in
the SGI’s global movement for peace. The exhibition “Women and a
Culture of Peace” was created by the Women’s Peace Committee of
the Soka Gakkai in Japan in collaboration with peace scholar Elise
Boulding, and forums on a culture of peace have been held to help raiseawareness in many local communities. The message underlying these
efforts is that women are the builders of peace; this represents a translation of Makiguchi’s beliefs into contemporary contexts.
At the same time, these activities share the spirit of UN Security
Council Resolution 1325, adopted ten years ago in October 2000.8

President Ikeda further pointed out a characteristic of the SGI movement, which is rooted in this same thought. He states:

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women’s roles in a world without nuclear weaponsRaising one’s voice or taking action is something we all can do. All
that is required are the natural feelings shared by people everywhere:
the desire to live in peace, the wish to protect those we love, the determination to spare the world’s children needless suffering...
The members of the SGI in 192 countries and territories around theworld have been working to build solidarity with and among our fellow
citizens. Our efforts are based on the belief that it is dialogue, first andforemost, that opens one heart to another...
Based on the proud determination to make the struggle for nuclear
abolition the foundation for a world without war, and convinced thatparticipation in this unprecedented undertaking is the greatest gift we
can offer the future, I call on people of goodwill everywhere to work
together toward the realization of a world finally free from the menaceof nuclear weapons.9

Responding to this call, women of SGI have steadily initiated a wide
range of activities in their local communities and at their workplaces.
Notably, the Soka Gakkai Women’s Peace Committee has been actively
engaged in peacemaking activities. The Committee has continuously
promoted grassroots activities in the belief that “peace starts with theinner transformation of each individual.” Toward the abolishment of
nuclear weapons, the committee has been working on these activities aspart of their mission: 1) Show the horror of nuclear weapons to theworld, 2) Inspire people to help abolish nuclear weapons, and 3) Raiseawareness of dialogue as a means of building peace.
The committee has been engaged in various activities, including publishing testimonies of the war, showing exhibitions, holding discussion
meetings where people share their experiences, and organizing lecturesand seminars by experts on nuclear disarmament.
Among those activities, the collection of atomic bomb survivors’
testimonies published in 1981 was especially well received.
Each committee member visited survivors of the war and recorded
their voices to ensure that their memory of the disaster is never forgotten. The collection, entitled “Wish for Peace” took over 10 years tocomplete 20 volumes. The main experiences of survivors are containedin volume 4 “The Heart of Hiroshima and Mother’s Prayer: Episode
After the Hiroshima Bombing” and volume 11,“When is the End?
Episode of the 2nd generation of Nagasaki Bombing Survivors.”
In 2005, the year which marked 60 years from the end of the WWII
and the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the committee alsobegan recording the experiences of atomic bomb survivors for posterity.

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They filmed 180 survivors’ testimonies and created a DVD entitled,“Wish for Peace: Women’s War Experiences” based on 31 survivors’
testimonies; 1) Radiation Exposure in Hiroshima, 2) Radiation Exposure
in Nagasaki, 3) Battle of Okinawa, 4) Repatriation 5) Nurses in the War,
6) Women and Children in the Wartime and 7) An Air Raid.
Based on this DVD, another DVD entitled, “Wish for Peace: Women’s War Experiences in Hiroshima and Nagasaki” was created, which
can be seen in English, Spanish, French, and Chinese (both in traditionaland simplified Chinese). The DVD was distributed to elementary andjunior high schools, and seminars were held in local communities where
the DVD was used as teaching material.
The first chapter of the DVD is on radiation exposure in Hiroshima
and contains a testimony by Ms. Kikue Shiota who was exposed to theradiation of the atomic bomb when she was 21. In the video, she explains that she ran around the hell-like city of Hiroshima after the bombing. The next day, she found her younger sister’s monpe pants burned ina fire. Her younger brother was also badly injured and her motherpassed away one month later from the effects of the bomb.
In Chapter 2, on radiation exposure in Nagasaki, Ms. Toyomi
Hashimoto shared her experience of being exposed to radiation together
with her children and how they suffered from the effects of the atomic
bomb. She later also gave birth to a child with birth defects caused by
the bombing. As an atomic bomb survivor, Ms. Hashimoto was invited
to the UN General Assembly. At the assembly, she urged everyone tonever allow another atomic bombing.
In addition to the above activities, the Soka Gakkai Women’s Peace
Committee has invited a number of researchers and activists on peaceand culture. Those invited held lectures on various topics from the perspective of peace movement. The topics included, women’s roles inbuilding peace, religions involvement with war in history, and how
women can utilize their potential to prevent war.
The committee has also been active in holding exhibitions. The exhibition entitled “Culture of Peace and Women” was launched in 2002 in
response to the UN’s “Declaration on a Culture of Peace,” which was
renewed in 2007 and has since been touring in Japan. This exhibition
was supervised by Professor Elise Boulding, and seen by more than 1.1
million people in over 50 cities across Japan.
I was also involved in creating this exhibition, and I had an opportunity to meet Professor Boulding in Boston. On that occasion, I presented
her with an album covering the exhibition’s content and voices of visitors. She looked at each page carefully and expressed her admiration.

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women’s roles in a world without nuclear weapons

She praised the activities of the committee as well as women of the SGI
and said, “I’m glad I could support the exhibition.” The interview withProfessor Boulding remains deeply engraved in my heart.

5. Closing
Women of the SGI have been making remarkable contributions topeacebuilding activities. As SGI President Ikeda emphasizes, there is a
tradition of respect and gender equality starting with the Buddha,
reflected in the Lotus Sutra, as well as in the writings of Nichiren. This
tradition marks a way of thinking about women’s liberation in Buddhism, which is reflected in SGI President Ikeda’s many works andinitiatives.
Today, humanity faces an unprecedented mountain of global issues
that need to be resolved. Thus, it is thus imperative that we change thedirection of human destiny, that we make peace where there is confusion, and that we create a society that protects the dignity and value oflife.
President Ikeda has long been driving initiatives to bring about thiskind of change, and is calling on women to help usher in this new age. A
person who knows pain can listen to others’ sufferings, and empathizewith them, and can better see things from their point of view. From thisperspective, the role of women, which has gone largely overlooked until
now, provides a rich source of possibilities for building a bright future.
We cannot discuss global issues only from the perspective of gender;
however, it is also impossible to discuss this matter without considering
gender. The same thing can be said in regard to peace and the abolishment of nuclear weapons.
Rooted in the deep philosophy of Buddhism, a global network of
women has responded to Ikeda’s call, and continues to expand their efforts worldwide. Their aim is to make the twenty-first century a century
in which all people can experience a sense of happiness, which comesfrom knowing that life is precious and that both men and women share
responsibility in actualizing their full potential so that they can contribute to society.

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Notes
Josei Toda, “Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons,” 1957.9.8.
Daisaku Ikeda, “Shared efforts toward nuclear abolition,” 2009. 9.8.
3
Ibid.
4
See Soka Gakkai website, www.sokanet.jp
5
Betty Reardo, in Seikyo Shimbun, 2015. 8.31.
6Daisaku Ikeda “Peace through Dialogue: A Time to Talk Thoughts on a Culture ofPeace,” 2000. 1.26.
7
Ibid.
8
Daisaku Ikeda, “Toward a New Era of Value Creation,” 2010. 1.26.
9
Ikeda, 2009, op. cit.
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Author Biography
Thoshie Kurihara is a Senior Research Fellow, The Institute of Oriental Philosophy.
She is an adjunct lecturer, Soka University. Her research areas include sociology of religion, women’s studies. Her recent publications include The Challenges of Women: Past,
Present and Future (Tokyo: Hokuju-shuppan, 2014), “Buddhism and Women: Soka
Gakkai International’s Viewpoint” in The Journal of Oriental Studies, vol. 48. no.1
(2009), “The Concept of Equality in the Lotus Sutra: The SGI’s Viewpoint” in The Journal of Oriental Studies, vol. 48, no.2 (2009), “Women in Japanese Buddhist History:
Focusing on the Theory of Enlightenment of Women in Nichiren’s Teachings,” in The
Challenge of Mahayana Buddhism, ed. The Institute of Oriental Philosophy (2006),“The 21st Century Is a Century of Women: Buddhism and Women,” in The Journal of
Oriental Studies, vol. 43, no.2 (2004), and Guidance to Happiness of Women (Tokyo:
Daisanbunmeisha, 2003).