President tsunesaburo makiguchi biography

Educator and founding president of Soka Gakkai

Tsunesaburō Makiguchi (牧口 常三郎, Makiguchi Tsunesaburō; 23 July ^[1][2] (lunar calendar date 6 June) – 18 November ) was a Japanese educator who founded and became the first president of the Sōka Kyōiku Gakkai (Value-Creating Education Society), the predecessor of today's Soka Gakkai.

Early life and career

Makiguchi was born in the small village Arahama of Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, on 23 July (lunar calendar date 6 June).^[3] After his father abandoned the family and his mother attempted to kill both herself and Makiguchi by drowning, he was adopted by an uncle, Makiguchi Zendayu.^[3] About age 14 he moved to Hokkaido to live with another uncle, Watanabe Shiroji.^[3] Working his way through school, he graduated from Sapporo Normal School (today's Hokkaido University of Education) in ^[3] First employed as an assistant teacher at a prima