The New Human Revolution is a historical novel in which Daisaku Ikeda, third president of the Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist organization, narrates the story of the organization’s modern-day development. It continues the story begun in Ikeda’s The Human Revolution, which details second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda’s efforts to rebuild the organization in postwar Japan. Both works explore the mentor-disciple relationship of Toda and Ikeda, who appears in the story as Shin’ichi Yamamoto.
The Human Revolution concludes with Shin’ichi Yamamoto’s inauguration as third president of the Soka Gakkai in May 1960, following Toda’s death. By this time, the Soka Gakkai had become a powerful social force within Japan.
The New Human Revolution, a thirty-volume work, picks up the story in October of that same year as Shin’ichi departs Japan for a tour of the United States, Canada and Brazil. This venture marks the beginning of his efforts, inspired by Toda’s vision, to develop a global peace movement.
The concept of “human revolution” referenced in the title of these works is the underlying principle that a self-motivated transformation in the inner life of an individual will bring about change in society and ultimately change the destiny of a nation.
The New Human Revolution is a history of the Soka Gakkai under Ikeda’s leadership, describing his vision, his struggles, and his motivations as he takes action for peace on an ever-widening stage. It is also the a record of the struggles and triumphs of the pioneering Soka Gakkai members as they strive together with their mentor Shin’ichi Yamamoto to realize the vision of peace rooted in human revolution both in Japan and around the world. These narratives provide a trove of shared inspiration.
As a novelized historical account, Ikeda has given fictitious names to some of the individuals that appear in the story. He has at times also combined several real characters into a single character and at other times portrayed real individuals as multiple characters.
Ikeda began writing The New Human Revolution on August 6, 1993, the 48th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, with the resolve that it would extend to 30 volumes and constitute his life’s work. He was 65 at the time. “It will certainly be a supreme challenge to finish writing it in my lifetime,” he writes in the Introduction. He concluded the work twenty-five years later on August 6, 2018. His deliberate choice of the Hiroshima bombing anniversary as both the commencement and concluding dates for this effort signals the work’s core theme of peace. Its opening lines are, “Nothing is more precious than peace. Nothing brings greater happiness. Peace is the most basic starting point for the advancement of humankind.”
Each volume is self-contained, and it is not necessary to read them in sequence.
English editions of The New Human Revolution are published by the World Tribune Press in the USA, the SGI-UK in the UK, the Eternal Ganges Press in India, Soka Gakkai Malaysia in Malaysia and the Singapore Soka Association in Singapore. It is also available in booklet form in the Philippines, published by SGI Philippines.
