Chapter Four:

The Seven Damning Sins of Soka Gakkai-Komeito

The Sin of Anachronism

Now we come to the second sin, that of anachronism.
Among the many evidences of mental illness in Soka Gakkai
Komeito, the most obvious is that of anachronism. Their attempt
 to forcibly apply to present-day social conditions a religious
reformation that they could not fulfill during the days of Nichiren
 is a feat of intellectual acrobatics beyond understanding.
Such anachronism and ignoring of history, which are serious faults,
 have actually proved to be a means of attracting followers and
increasing their power as a religious organization and is a most
 interesting point for study.
That one single individual, forty-one year old Daisaku Ikeda, a
 man of unusual charismatic leadership, can maintain control over
 Soka Gakkai-Komeito, their Democratic Concert Association,
the Ushio Publishing  Company and their newspaper, Seikyo
Shimbun and all the other Soka Gakkai enterprises, is in itself
clear evidence of the basic defects of their organization.
Aclear example of Ikeda's charismatic power, which is one
of three ideal types about the legitimacy of dominance described
by Max Weber, as is generally known as the extraoridnary gift for
 attraction and ability to sway the masses possessed by the founders
 of religion, prophets, demagogues etc., is the follow my account of the
 meeting of executive members he addressed after the 1967 General
Election related by the person in attendance:

"The hall was filled with about 18,000 staff members. The meeting
began with spirited military-like music, 'The Warship March'and
 'Weigh Anchor.' The hall took on the atmosphere of high excitement.
 Immediately after the music stopped, some reports of new
appointments of staffs were made, followed by exclamatory speeches
 of some executive staff members who fairly screamed into the
microphone in commanding tones, expounding haughtily the
  the political line of Soka Gakkai.  This was followed by more
 music and by this time the audience was at the pinnacle of excitement.
 The music suddenly stopped. A hush fell over the audience. President
Ikeda entered the hall and was greeted by a thunder storm of applause.
 The applause ended abruptly, and President Ikeda, in very calm voice,
 in marked contrast to the previous speakers, said, 'Good afternoon everyone. - .'
He spoke to his audience almost in a whisper, and he alone of the leaders
used this mild tone of voice. Whereas the staff members screamed, he in a
soft and gentle tone continued:  'There is no need to go to excesses in
 shakubuku.  If it is not possible to engage in shakubuku in February, then
 do so in March, and if not in March, how about April. Perhaps some
of you are saying, we were much relieved that the General Election
campaign is over, but still we have the Tokyo Gubernatorial Election.
I really appreciated the work of the Womens Division in the election
campaign for the House of Representatives, so you take it easy in the
 next election campaign, we will call on the Men's Division to work in this one....'
The members of the Men's Division in the audience are deeply moved
by the words of their President, and the women are shedding tears,
and the membership's response to these gentle words of their President
will be to intensify their shukabuka efforts, and everyone goes home
happy!  In mob psychology this is a skilful tactic of psychological manipulation.
Ikeda's close associates when addressing the audience, do so
 from a higher level in commanding tones and authoritative speech,
 and by means of this maintain vertically a great distance between
themselves and the audience, and they leave no doubt in anyone's
mind concerning the difference in their rank and that of the audience.
 Their obvious aim is to make it clear that their position and rank is
 vastly higher than that of the members of the audience.  Then, the
one who is the highest ranking, the man at the very top of the organization
enters, and in a tone and manner far removed from that of the lower ranking
executives, addresses the audience in gentle tones and on their level!  By
 comparison with his close associates, not only is the President's personality
much brighter, but also between the highest ranking member, the President,
 and the lowest ranking members present there is a feeling of intimacy and
 familiarity. In this way, by manipulating the psychological distance they create
 familiarity and authority (familiarity to those at the same level and the respect
 to those at a distance, on the other hand, hatred by the very familiarity and
 indifference caused by distance). By manipulating this sense of being on the
 same level and this feeling of vertical distance a certain psychological effect
can be created among the masses.  As far as Soka Gakkai is concerned, it is
 a fantastic performance.
In addition to the mass psychology, they make good use of the sound effects,
 turning up the volume to arouse the audience, and then with a quiet mood he
appeals to their hearts in calm tones which has the effect of driving home their
main message.  This is an extremely skillful technique.
In April, 1965, just before his fall from power, I saw and heard President
Sukarno address a meeting of world Islam in Bandung.  The excitement of
the crowd gathered outside the auditorium was terrific, and inside, when
Sukarno entered, everything was carefully staged befitting the entrance of a
one- man dictator about to address an audience.  This sort of production is
similar to that used when Ikeda comes "on stage." It also has much in common
with the fanatical jubilation with which the Red Guards greet President Mao
when he appears in The Gate of Heaven Square in Peking.
This skillful use of the technique of mass control by manipulating the authority
by distance and the familiarity on the same level, that is, by means of the
vertical-horizontal relationship, can be said to be similar to the use of the
authority and position of the Emperor under the Emperor Regime.  Although
 the charismatic government produced by the appearance of President Ikeda
has something in common with Sukarno or Mao, it is more than either of these,
akin to that uniquely Japanese psychological effect which the Emperor Regime creates.
  Therefore Ikeda never addresses an audience in a loud voice, nor does he
address them among the ordinary citizenry.
Itaru Kikumura, the author of a novel about Daisaku Ikeda says:
"President Ikeda, considering the mass appeal in the present-day media
 audiences, is not the screaming shouting type, rather, he is the type of some
 of Japan's popular TV personalities such as Keizo Takahashi or Hiroshi
Ogawa," (well-known for their suave manner and finesse in hosting their
shows.) This assessment has a certain degree of validity.
Before becoming President, Ikeda was known for his prowess and fanaticism
 in shakubuku activities, and superman record of shakubuka has become a
 legend in Soka Gakkai. As head of the Youth Division and the chief of Staff
Chamber, he was known as a fiery and energetic leader, however, after
succeeding Josei Toda as President of Soka Gakkai he is said to have become
 mild mannered,  attentive, and and a listener. That he could change so markedly,
 from the fiery type, to the mild mannered leader, could indicate a conscious
ffort to gain a desired effect-which of these two natures is the original man?
There are some TV personalities who have little or no qualities of human
nature and he seems to resemble them, but it was said of the same man
that during his days as the head of the Youth Division he was hard dnving--
a man possessed, fanatical, extreme-accounting for this marked change in
 Ikeda is a most important key to the understanding of the man.
Wherever groups of people are formed, there will be cliques and in political
organizations this is a most conspicuous tendency.  In such a mammoth organization
as Soka Gakkai, we naturally expect such factions to form to promote the
candidacy of the next President or members of the staff.  However, in the Soka
Gakkai organization there is not even one
faction! "Even though an Anti-Mao faction may be formed in Red China, the
possibilty that an Anti-Ikeda faction could be formed in Soka Gakkai is absolutely
 nil," is the widely held view of cynical newspaper reporters.  As a leader who
prevents factions there is the tendency to evaluate him highly, however,
we could say that by a rule of iron he prevents factions from coming out
 into the open, and if it can be truly said that there are absolutely no factions,
we must also say that this is not an organization comprised of human beings.
A group in which there are no opposing views, and no rigorous give-and-take
and exchange of opinions, is a group which is making no progress.  Because a
group has no factions, can I be certain that it is because they are successfully
functioning as a group? We cannot interpret the absence of factions in such a
simple manner.
They swear to President Ikeda the same absolute obedience that in former days
 the citizens of Japan swore to the Emperor and when the members and staff of
 Soka Gakkai launch their attacks on the established political parties and criticize
 heretical religions, they do so with an astonishing display of energy.  This attitude
 resembles that of the Red Guards, waving the quotations of President Mao
and repeating his words, which is what the members of Soka Gakkai are doing,
parroting the words of President Ikeda.  When we view this attitude, we must ask,
where is the critical mind which is so natural to all young people?  Do these young
members harbor no doubts about the teachings of the President-no doubts at all
about his conduct, character, ability? Pascal wrote: "Man is but a reed, the most
feeble thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed," so, we must say that a person
who never criticizes at all is indeed a most unusual individual.  This is why we
can say that this is a group made up of 10 million "yes men"!
Such single-mindeness and uniformity in a mass movement which believes they
alone have the truth, and that all outsiders are their enemies against whom they
must fight, and which believes that all who criticise them must be crushed, has
ample possibilities of being a form of mental unbalance which is a dangerous sign
of becoming fascist.  Of course, we cannot say that Fascism, Nazism, and the
various forms of reaction, dictatorship, and chauvinistic sentiment, of the old
Japanese Militarism of former days, exists in the same form in the Soka Gakkai
movement, but we can say their organization has in it the same kind of mental
sickness and is similar in nature. Several factors can be pointed out indicating a
strong tendency toward anachronism.
Karl L6with has spoke of Nazism as "Active Nihilism." That is, though the movements
of the Nazis are very active their thought and feelings are nihilistidly active. Because
 they find the meaning of their movement in the denial of Democracy and Communism.
 It seeks to give meaning to negative activism.  Actually, Fascism is a theory of action,
 not a theory of systematized thought.  This is its outstanding feature.
Soka Gakkai's activity and behaviour in shakubuka when viewed in this meaning, is
negative, and they are exciusivist in that they condemn all other religions and are vague
about the value of their own religion and have many of the requisites of active nihilism.
The character of Fascist activities, as Hitler so often said, is in the technique of managing
and manipulating the basic emotions and nostalgia of the masses, and regimenting it
according to the purposes and aims of the leader.
The main point of his famous words is as follows:" The masses are stupid. We can
make them think heaven is hell, or hell is heaven. If only we repeat it many times with c
onviction they are caused to think that this is their belief by being told so repeatedly."
This tactic is somewhat similar to that used by Soka Gakkai.  The behaviour style of
Soka Gakkai is to use
doctrines of the age of Buddha and of the age of Nichren in the present age and to use
the thought and behaviour in the time of the Nazis and the old Japanese Militarists.  By
the use of these anachronisms as the basis of the logic of their action, they appear to be
developing a political movement along nihilistic lines.
In his book, "The True Face of Soka Gakkai", Kunio Naito makes several
nalysis of the Komeito Party's behaviour style in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly,
 and in it he says that their behaviour style is similar in many aspects to the Nazis
when they were a minority party in Germany and also to that of the Fascists under
Mussolini.  In this meaning, this fascist style activity of this anachronistic form, which
 is already clearly evident, will continue to increase in danger as the power of Soka
Gakkai expands~this danger will not diminish, but I say positively it will increase with
 their power. Together with the organizational expansion, this fanatical and fascist
character will become stronger, not weaker, and therefore in the event that they come
to power, we must say that it is obvious that those who oppose them will be suppressed.