The Passion and Energy of Youth
October 2009
Banner photo: [Sanna Lindberg/Getty Images]
China--Restoring an Ancient Bond
Mr. Ikeda and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing, December 1974 [© Seikyo Shimbun] During the 1960s, the relationship between Japan and China was full of tensions. The two countries had never concluded a peace treaty following World War II--Japan did not officially recognize the People's Republic of China, but backed Taiwan as representing the Chinese at the United Nations and other international forums. By the end of the decade, China itself was in the throes of the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, and the ideological gulf between the two nations was pronounced.
It was against this backdrop that Daisaku Ikeda, then president of the Soka Gakkai, issued a proposal on September 8, 1968, outlining concrete steps toward the normalization of diplomatic ties between China and Japan. This was based on his belief that ending China's isolation within the international community was an absolute requirement not only for the stability of Asia, but also for global peace. "In today's nuclear age," Ikeda said, "it is no exaggeration to say that whether humanity will be saved from total annihilation rests entirely on whether ties of friendship that transcend national boundaries can be forged."
Ikeda was one of the first major figures in Japan to make such a call, and his speech met with fierce criticism accusing him of pandering to communism.
In October 1969, Ikeda wrote of the importance of Japan and China signing a peace and friendship treaty. Although the door to restored diplomatic relations had by then been opened, Ikeda was convinced that true normalization could not occur as long as it was restricted to the governmental level. It was necessary to forge heart-to-heart bonds between the Chinese and Japanese people by creating bridges of trust and friendship.
Members of a Soka Gakkai friendship exchange delegation with Chinese youth in Shanghai in 2006 [© Seikyo Shimbun] As Ikeda writes, "The people are like the sea. Only when the sea of human exchange is truly open can vessels of all kinds of exchange sail freely back and forth. Now is the time to promote cultural and educational exchange, grassroots exchange."
Ikeda made his first visit to China in May 1974, two years after normalization of diplomatic relations. It was on his second visit, on December 5 of the same year, that he had the opportunity to meet with Zhou Enlai (1898–1976).
Premier Zhou had recognized that the Soka Gakkai was an organization that had arisen from among the people. He no doubt appreciated the fact that the Soka Gakkai had resisted Japanese militarism during the war and suffered government oppression as a result. In his dealings with Japan, he paid keen attention to whether the individuals or organizations involved could rise above the narrow framework of nationalism. For a period of 10 years before their meeting, Premier Zhou had been in contact with Ikeda through such intermediaries as the statesman Tatsunosuke Takasaki and popular author Sawako Ariyoshi--both of whom had long been working to promote friendly ties between Japan and China.
Premier Zhou was in hospital when Ikeda met him, and his condition was serious. Nevertheless, he was standing at the entrance to the hospital waiting when Ikeda arrived. During their dialogue, Premier Zhou expressed his hope for an early conclusion of a China-Japan peace and friendship treaty. Ikeda, struck by the sincerity of Zhou's words, determined to devote his life to building an indestructible bridge of friendship between Japan and China.
A Bridge of Friendship
A few months later, in the spring of 1975, the first exchange students from the People's Republic of China were welcomed to Soka University, founded by Ikeda in 1971. The six Chinese students were the first to formally study in Japan since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
SGI President Ikeda with Chinese exchange students at Soka University in 1998 [© Seikyo Shimbun] As of 2009, Soka University has academic exchange agreements with a total of 28 Chinese universities including Peking, Fudan, Wuhan, Shenzhen and Shanghai Universities; hundreds of students and researchers have taken part in these exchanges over the years.
SGI President Ikeda has visited China 10 times since his first trip in 1974. In addition, more than 20 delegations from the Soka Gakkai's Youth Division and Women's Division have visited China since 1979, while the Doctors' Division has traveled to China to visit hospitals and provide medical services. The All-China Youth Federation has visited Japan 17 times and conducted exchanges with youth representatives of the Soka Gakkai.
The 84 honorary doctorates and other academic honors that have been awarded to Ikeda by Chinese universities and the 23 Chinese research centers dedicated to studying his life and philosophy are an indication of the broad impact of Ikeda's activities to foster exchange.
Ikeda has always insisted that the Japanese acknowledge the extent of their cultural debt to China, which manifests not only in literature and art, but in every walk of life from the Japanese writing system, through agriculture and technology, to Buddhism itself, which was introduced to Japan from China via Korea. Such insistence confronts a still-widespread Japanese nationalism that is antagonistic toward China.
The Treasures from Dunhuang exhibition in Tokyo (1985) [© Seikyo Shimbun] Exhibitions by the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum (TFAM), founded by Ikeda, have featured collections of ancient ceramics, calligraphy and painting and can be seen as a form of public education against such attitudes, demonstrating the shared cultural heritage of the two countries.
The most recent exhibition, in 2008, of items associated with the famous Chinese historical novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, included artifacts loaned from Chinese and Japanese cultural institutions and museums, including 53 designated as Class A Heritage/Cultural Properties of China, displayed together for the first time.
In October 1985, TFAM launched an exhibition titled "Treasures from Dunhuang, China." The exhibits consisted of ancient Lotus Sutra manuscripts and antiquities unearthed from the areas surrounding the 2,000-year-old Dunhuang ruins and Mogao Caves, an ancient center of Buddhist activity along the Silk Road. The excavated articles and Lotus Sutra manuscripts were exhibited outside of China for the first time. Much of the credit for the survival of this unique cultural heritage belongs to Chang Shuhong (1904–94), with whom Ikeda met and conducted numerous discussions. Their dialogue has been published under the title Tonko no kosai (The Brilliance of Dunhuang).
SGI President Ikeda (right) and Mrs. Ikeda (left) with Chinese writer Ba Jin and his family at his home in Shanghai (June 1984) [© Seikyo Shimbun] Min-On, a cultural organization also founded by Ikeda, has been instrumental in fostering exchanges between the two countries for many years. The first of more than 40 Chinese acts to visit Japan at Min-On's invitation was the Beijing Artist Group in 1975; they have been followed by numerous artists representative of the cultural and ethnic diversity of China and the Silk Road, as well as acrobatic troupes and Chinese opera.
Ikeda has met with many Chinese literary and cultural figures, and has published 11 dialogues with leading Chinese thinkers. One recently published dialogue was with the renowned linguist and historian Ji Xianlin (1911–2009) in which they discuss the nature of Eastern civilization and wisdom and responses to the issues facing modern civilization.
As Ikeda stated in his lecture at Peking University, Beijing, in May 1990: "It is important to possess a sense of obligation and to repay our debts. That is why I believe that Japan must devote its best efforts to the development and well-being of China, a country to which it owes an incalculable cultural debt . . . We share a long tradition of friendship, and there is much promise that we can work together to forge a dynamic and genuine era of peace and stability. Such a partnership will contribute not only to our own welfare, but to the cause of peace in Asia and the entire world."
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