63 Famous People that Practice Nichiren Buddhism - Soka Gakkai

Americanos

1- Alvin Sykes

 

Alvin Sykes (21 July 1956 – 19 March 2021) was a civil rights activist who investigated unsolved murder cases of Americans that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement era within the United States. He was also the impetus for the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, a federal law enacted in 2008. The Emmett Till law is due to expire, and Sykes was seeking to expand the law and make it permanent.

Sykes was primarily responsible for Kansas City police reopening their investigation into the 1970 murder of politician and business owner Leon Jordan. In 2010, new evidence suggested local mobsters, or their associates were involved in his murder.

Sykes was born on July 21, 1956, to a 14-year-old girl who was a victim of rape. A family friend took him in when he was eight days old and raised him as his unofficial adoptive mother.

Clay Risen, he says: “Though he never took a bar exam, Mr. Sykes was a brilliant legal and legislative operator whose admirers included City Council members, politicians and U.S. attorneys general from both parties.” 

 Brian Levin, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, said, “Anyone who worked in civil rights during the last several decades knew Alvin Sykes. He changed the face of American law, and he learned it all in a Kansas City library.”

2- Cheryl Boone Isaacs 

Cheryl Boone Isaacs (1949) is an American film executive and the first Loving-American president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Honors
2013: Black Entertainment Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA)
2013: Essence Magazine's Trailblazer Award
2014: African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Horizon Award
2014: NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame
2014: Chapman University Dodge College of Film and Media Arts O.L. Halsell Filmmaker-in-

3- Belinda Jo Carlisle 

Belinda Jo Carlisle (1958) is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of The Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands of all time. A member of the Soka Gakkai International since 2002, and she often mentions in press interviews that she chants Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō daily.

4- Brandon Nicholson

Brandon Nicholson - Executive Director of The Hidden Genius Project
He has dedicated his life to promoting equity in the public realm, particularly in the education space. In his previous stint as a senior evaluator and consultant, Brandon conducted research, evaluation, and consulted on a range of projects related to intersections of education policy and workforce and economic development. It was there that he began to recognize the potential for technology to bolster the domestic and global economy as underrepresented populations gain more equitable access to growth sectors. Brandon has conducted substantial research in the areas of education and youth development, with a particular focus on issues of equity and access in K-12 education for underserved populations. He has considerable experience investigating linkages among race, class, and youth development. Brandon serves on the Board of Trustees/Directors of: Marin Academy (CA); the San Francisco 49ers Academy (CA); Great Oakland Public Schools; the Lorenzo Alexander ACES Foundation (CA); the GreenLight Fund (CA) and Aim High (CA).

5- Brenton Lange

Brenton Christopher Lengel (1983), is an American playwright, screenwriter, and journalist noted for his anarchist political views and participation in the Occupy Wall Street protest movement. He is best known for his play North to Maine, the first play ever written about the Appalachian Trail; his international anarchist radio program Insurrection with Brenton Lange.

6- Buster Williams 

Buster Williams - Charles Anthony Williams (1942) is an American jazz bassist.Williams was married in 1965 to Veronica, whom he met in junior high school, he lives in Camden with his wife.Introduced to chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō by his sister in 1972, Williams and his wife took up the Nichiren Buddhist practice after she suffered a concussion in a car accident, and he has continued the practice ever since. His 2004 album Griot Libertè was inspired by another health crisis when Veronica recovered from a coma following a heart attack.

7- Claire Bertschinger

Claire Bertschinger is a British nurse whose work inspired the formation of Live Aid and Band Aid (band). She became a member of the global Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai International in 1994.

8- Craig Taro Gold

Craig Taro Gold (1969) is an American author and entrepreneur. He is the author of several New York Times best-selling books including Open Your Mind, Open Your Life and Living Wabi Sabi. He is the co-founder of eVoice and Teleo along with other business ventures.Members of his extended family live around the world and come from a range of philosophical traditions, including Judaism, Protestantism, Catholicism, and Buddhism, which Gold says gave him "a keen awareness that there are many ways to view the same thing." He has self-identified as a "JuBu," a Jewish Buddhist. Gold knew he was gay from an early age and has written about growing up gay for the Gay Voices section of The Huffington Post. Since his teenage years, he has practiced Nichiren Buddhism as a member of  Soka Gakkai International.

9- Courtney Love

Courtney Love (1964) is an American musician, songwriter, actress, and artist.Love has practiced several religions, including Catholicism, Episcopalianism and New Age religions, but has said that Buddhism is the "most transcendent" path for her. She has studied and practiced both Tibetan and Nichiren Buddhism since 1989.

10- Ducan Sheik and 11- Steven Sater 

Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Initially finding success as a singer, most notably for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing", he later expanded to compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage, such as the successful musical, Spring Awakening, where he won multiple Tonys and a Grammy.

Steven Sater
 Due to an apartment fire, Sater was forced to jump from his balcony and damaged his spine, as well as several other limbs. The months spent recovering from his injuries and burns inspired Sater to teach himself Ancient Greek and seriously pursue the arts. He went on to study English literature at Princeton University.  Sater took a position with a New York City literary agent but continued to write plays on the side. It was during this time that he joined the Soka Gakkai International. His membership brought Sater together with both his future wife, and his future creative partner, Duncan Sheik.

Sater and Sheik recently worked together on a new Broadway musical, "Alice By Heart". It was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" .
They worked on a musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story "The Nightingale."

Following his parents' divorce, Sheik split time between his father's house in New Jersey and his mother's home in South Carolina. Sheik's Juilliard-trained grandmother introduced him to the piano, and he later took up the electric guitar. By age 12, he was playing guitar with high school students in a cover band. After graduating from Phillips Academy, Andover in 1988, Sheik studied semiotics at Brown University; while at Brown, he played guitar in a band with fellow Brown student Lisa Loeb. Following his graduation from Brown in 1992, he moved to Los Angeles.

12- Garry Morris

Garrett Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American actor, comedian and singer. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980, and played Jimmy on The Jeffersons (1983–1984). Morris also had a role as Junior "Uncle Junior" King on the sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show, which aired from 1996 to 2001. Morris had a starring role as Earl Washington on the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls, from 2011 to 2017. He is also known for his role in the sitcom Martin as Stan Winters, from 1992 to 1995, and the film Cooley High. He played Slide in Car Wash (1976), and Carl in The Census Taker (1984).

13- Gene Kang

Gene Kang is an award winning journalist .

14- Herbie Hancock 

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock (1940) is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer and actor. Since 1972, Hancock has practiced Nichiren Buddhism as a member of the Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International. As part of Hancock's spiritual practice, he recites the Buddhist chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo each day. In 2013, Hancock's dialogue with musician Wayne Shorter and Soka Gakkai International president Daisaku Ikeda on jazz, Buddhism and life was published in Japanese.

15- James Lecesne

James Lecesne (1954) is an American actor, author, screenwriter, and LGBT rights activist best known for his screenplay of the Academy-award winning short film Trevor. He has written several books including Absolute Brightness and Virgin Territory and is also active in the entertainment industry as an actor and producer. Lecesne practices Nichiren Buddhism and is a member of the global Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International. As part of his spiritual practice, Lecesne has stated that he recites the Buddhist chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo each day.

16- John Astin

 John Astin (1930) is an American actor best known for playing Gomez Addams on The Addams Family.  Astin is currently married to Valerie Ann Sandobal and lives in Baltimore.

17- Mickalene Thomas 

Mickalene Thomas (1971) is an American artist. Her work draws from Western art history, pop art and visual culture to examine ideas around femininity, beauty, race, sexuality, and gender.
The “Mama Bush” paintings are iconic symbols of the tall, beautiful woman I had known—until 2010, when Sandra started to show significant signs of declining health.
Though her resolve was strengthened by her faith in Buddhism as a productive life force, when her beauty started to fade, the real struggle began. At that moment I knew I had to make a film.

Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman is a short documentary that celebrates Sandra’s life, revealing a different type of beauty and a different type of aging through a different type of portraiture that I hope conveys the inspiration I continue to draw from Mama Bush.

18 - Naima Mora 

Naima Mora (1984) is an American fashion model and the winner of Cycle 4 of America's Next Top Model. The daughter of jazz vocalist and entrepreneur Theresa Mora and jazz percussionist Francisco Mora Catlett. Her  paternal-grandmother Elizabeth Catlett (1915 – 2012) was an Love American sculptor and graphic artist. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C., to parents working in education, and was the grandchild of formerly enslaved people. It was difficult for a black woman at this time to pursue a career as a working artist. ∞ I. Charles Wilbert White, Jr  (April 2, 1918 – October 3, 1979) was an American artist known for his chronicling of Love American related subjects in paintings, drawings, lithographs, and murals. II. Francisco Mora (1922 – 2002) was a Mexican artist of the "Mexican School" of mural painters.

Juan Mora Catlett is a Mexican film and documentary director. He is known for making films focused on artists and the pre-Hispanic peoples of Mexico.

Ifé Mora a singer ∞ Aarón Sánchez (born February 12, 1976) is a Mexican celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author and philanthropist. He is the executive chef and part-owner of the Mexican restaurant Johnny Sánchez in New Orleans.Television show(s): Chefs vs. City (2009–2010) - Heat Seekers (2011–2012) - 

Taco Trip (2014–2015) - MasterChef (2017–ongoing) - MasterChef Junior (2018–ongoing)

19- Néstor Torres 

Néstor Torres (1957) is a jazz flautist born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

20- Peruchin

Orlando Manuel "Peruchin" Cepeda Pennes (1937) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball first baseman and a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The 1958 National League Rookie of the Year, Cepeda was voted the National League Most Valuable Player in 1967, the year his team, the St. Louis Cardinals, won the World Series. Overall, he appeared in three World Series and was the first winner of the American League's Outstanding Designated Hitter Award in 1973. He batted .300 or better 9 times in the 14 seasons he appeared in over 100 games, much of it played in what is now called the "Second Deadball Era.Cepeda began practicing Nichiren Buddhism as a member of the Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International in 1983.

21- Phoebe Snow

Phoebe Snow (1950–2011), was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.Between 1975 and 1978 Snow was married to Phil Kearns (who later came out as gay).She had a daughter, Valerie Rose, who was born with severe brain damage. Snow resolved not to institutionalize Valerie, and cared for her at home until Valerie died on March 19, 2007, at the age of 31. Snow's efforts to care for Valerie nearly ended her career.She continued to take voice lessons, and she studied opera informally. In her later years she embraced Buddhism. “…I thought I would rail against my religious practice. I questioned it at first for obvious reasons. But then my faith deepened. I became much more devoted. I found, almost… I’m trying to find the right word to describe it… sanctuary.”

22- Ron Glass

Ronald Earle "Ron" Glass (1945 –2016), was an American actor. He was known for his roles as literary Det. Ron Harris in the television sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982), and as the spiritual Shepherd Derrial Book in the 2002 science fiction series Firefly and its sequel film Serenity.

22- Sharen Davis

Sharen Davis (born February 22, 1957) is an American costume designer. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards for Ray and Dreamgirls. She is a frequent collaborator with actor Denzel Washington, having worked with him five times; most recently on the film adaptation of Fences.

23- Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Nadine Vega (1959) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer, best known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.

24- Tina Turner

What's Love Got to Do with It is a 1993 American biographical film directed by Brian Gibson, loosely based on the life of Tina Turner. It stars Angela Bassett as Tina Turner and Laurence Fishburne as Ike Turner.The screenplay was adapted by Kate Lanier from the book I, Tina written by Tina Turner and Kurt Loder. 

How Music Icon Tina Turner Found Her Nirvana | Oprah's Next Chapter | Oprah Winfrey Network

25- Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw

Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw (1976) is an American film actress and model.

26- Wayne Shorter

Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933-March 2, 2023 is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Many of Shorter's compositions have become jazz standards, and his output has earned worldwide recognition, critical praise and various commendations.Shorter has won 10 Grammy Awards. He has also received acclaim for his mastery of the soprano saxophone (after switching his focus from the tenor in the late 1960s), beginning an extended reign in 1970 as Down Beat's annual poll-winner on that instrument, winning the critics' poll for 10 consecutive years and the readers' for 18. The New York Times has described Shorter as "probably jazz's greatest living small-group composer and a contender for greatest living improviser." In 2017, he was awarded the Polar Music Prize.

                                                                 

Brazilians

1- Almir Rogério

Almir Rogério (born Nestor de Medeiros July 12), is a Brazilian singer. He began his career in the 1960s, but it was in 1982 that he devoted himself to the success Fuscão Preto, which fell in popular taste and sold about one and a half million records. The song earned the singer several awards, and he became a figure known throughout Brazil. Throughout his career, he has released more than thirty albums.The success achieved by Almir Rogério made the composition turn film of the presenter Xuxa. In the film Fuscão Preto, the singer acted under direction of Jeremias Moreira Son, playing the part of Lima.

2-Betty Faria

Betty Faria - Elisabeth Maria Silva de Faria  (1941), is a Brazilian actress.

3- Carmo Dalla Vecchia

Carmo Dalla Vecchia (1970), is a Brazilian actor.

4- Cláudia Raia

Cláudia Raia - Maria Cláudia Motta Raia  (1966), is a Brazilian actress.

5- Dentinho

Dentinho (Portuguese for little tooth) - Bruno Ferreira Bonfim (1989), is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder currently for Shakhtar Donetsk of the Ukrainian Premier League.

6- Dhu Moraes

Dhu Moraes - Dulcilene Moraes  (1953), is a Brazilian singer.

7-Diogo Vilela

Diogo Vilela - José Carlos Monteiro de Barros, is a Brazilian actor.

8- Edson Celulari 

  Edson Francisco Celulari (born 1958), is a Brazilian actor.

9- Francisco Carvalho 

Francisco Carvalho (Teresina, November 15, 1951), also known as Chico Carvalho, is a Brazilian actor. He is known for his work in Salve Jorge (2012), História de Amor (1995) and Memorial de Maria Moura (1994).

10- Ju Colombo

Ju Colombo - Jucimara Colombo Ferreira (Sao Paulo, May 8, 1964), is a Brazilian actress.  Has three children: Gabriel, Alexandre and Lucas.
In 1996 she made her debut in television, on the soap opera Razão de Viver, at SBT, where he played Vitória.
 In 2000, she took part in the third season of sitcom Ô ... Poor guy, playing maid Val, who put her mistress's life in chaos with her messy way.

 In 2001 she played the cleaning lady Candinha in the children's series Acampada Legal. She then made a number of appearances in Senta Com A Comedia, A Diarista, Belíssima and Norma, as well as the movie The Storyteller. In 2009, she was featured in the educational series Almanaque Educação, from TV Cultura, playing the protagonist's mother, who explained facts about history, Brazilian culture and environmentalism.  In the third season the series changed its name to School 2.0 and changed its mood to a school where educational issues were most dynamically addressed.  In 2014 he signed with Rede Globo and integrated the soap opera Em Família como Ceiça. She then performed, in 2015, Grace in Seven Lives.  In 2016 she gave birth to the mother of Saint Esmeria in Liberdade, Liberdade, the leader of the quilombo who saved the escaped slaves.  Between 2017 and 2018 plays Das Dores in the twenty-fifth season of Workout: Live the Difference, which suffers from the prejudice suffered by his granddaughter by his girlfriend's family.

11- Lívia de Bueno

Lívia de Bueno (1983), is a Brazilian actress.

12- Luiz Paulo Lima

Luiz Paulo Lima Co-founder and Director Special Projects at Hud Entertainment / CDI- La Cité de L´image

13- Luis Vagner

Luis Vagner is a Brazilian  singer http://happyfamilyinheaven.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-guitarreiro-luis-vagner.html

14- Mera Teixeira 

Mera Teixeira is a journalist and TV presenter who has been a Buddhist for about 20 years. Mera was a journalist for:  O Estado de S.Paulo Newspaper, Agência Estado, Diário de S.Paulo, Editora Abril, SBT, TV Bandeirantes, Radio and TV Gazeta. Presently, she presents the Fatto Legal Culture and Variety show on Cable TV.

15- Milene Domingues 

Milene Domingues Aganzo (1979) is a Brazilian model and former footballer who played as a midfielder.

16- Vera Golik

Vera Golik is a Brazilian journalist, writer, Partner of the company Infinite Fund Text and Image, Author of the project "De Peito Aberto, Self-Esteem of Women with Breast Cancer", Editor of the Beauty Agency, State Counselor of the Women's Condition of São Paulo, Global Cancer Ambassador, by the American Cancer Society / UN
Based on the humanist philosophy and the dignity of life Golik writes and gives lectures on women's self-esteem and other issues related to the feminine universe. She mediates events, leading the audience to dialogue and interactivity.
Golik is the author of the books: The Discovery of Beauty (1992); Hair and Beauty Collection (1996); Everything you need to know about Celulite to stay well with your body (1996 and reissue in 2012 ); Corpo de Mulher - The Pleasure to Know (2000); and De Chest Open, the self-esteem of women with breast cancer, a humanistic experience (2010). Titles that approach the concept of Integral Beauty, seeking to enlarge the feminine consciousness and to value the woman as human being.

Britishers

1- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (1967), is a British-Nigerian actor best known for his roles on television, including Lost, Oz, and Game of Thrones. He grow up Catholic and his parents were Muslim Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.

2- John Howard Jones

John Howard Jones (1955), is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He had ten top 40 hit singles in the UK between 1983 and 1986, including six which reached the top ten, and his 1984 album Human's Lib went to number one. Around the world, he had 15 top 40 hit singles between 1983 and 1992. He has been described by AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "one of the defining figures of mid-'80s synth pop." He also performed at Live Aid in 1985. Jones is a member of Sōka Gakkai International, and is musical director of one of its choirs, the Glorious Life Chorus.

3- Orlando Bloom 

Orlando Bloom - Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. After having his breakthrough as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, he rose to fame by further appearing in epic fantasy, historical epic, and fantasy adventure films. His other roles include Legolas in The Hobbit trilogy, Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, and Paris in Troy.

Danish

1- Anne Louise Hassing

Anne Louise Hassing (1967), is a Danish actress best known for her award-winning roles in the films The Idiots (Danish: Idioterne) and Pain of Love.

French

1- Mariane van Neyenhoff Pearl 

1- A Mighty Heart is a 2007 drama film directed by Michael Winterbottom; It is an adaptation of Mariane Pearl's memoir, A Mighty Heart.

Mariane van Neyenhoff Pearl (born 23 July 1967) is a French freelance journalist and a former reporter and columnist for Glamour magazine. She is the widow of Daniel Pearl, an American journalist who was the Southeast Asia bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. He was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan in early 2002, during the early months of the United States' War on Terror.

Italians

1- Roberto Baggio

Roberto Baggio, is an Italian footballer and member of the FIFA World Cup Dream Team.After his career threatening injury in 1985, Baggio, formerly a Roman Catholic, converted to Buddhism, practicing Nichiren Buddhism, and is a member of the Soka Gakkai International Buddhist organisation. Despite his conversion, he married his long-time girlfriend Andreina Fabbi in 1989 in a traditional Roman Catholic ceremony.In 2001, Baggio wrote an autobiography entitled Una porta nel cielo ("A Goal in the Sky", but also "A Door in the Sky"), including details about his career, childhood, religion, personal life, and rifts with managers. It won the award for best football book at the 2002 Serie A Awards.

2- Sabina Guzzanti

Sabina Guzzanti (1963), is an Italian satirist, actress, writer and producer whose work is devoted to examining social and political life in Italy.Since 1987, Sabina Guzzanti has practiced Nichiren Buddhism as a member of the global Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International.

India

1- Hansika Motwani

Hansika Motwani (born 9 August 1991) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil films. Hansika participates in philanthropic activities. She provides monetary support for the education of 30 underprivileged children and also takes care of the medical needs of 10 women who are suffering with breast cancer.[26] She is the brand Ambassador of Chennai turns Pink, an awareness program to promote breast cancer awareness among women.

In 2014, she was featured in Forbes's 250 celebrities list.

2- Jeetendra

Jeetendra (born Ravi Kapoor on 7 April 1942) is an Indian actor and producer, known for his work in Hindi films. Famous for his dancing, he was awarded a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 and the Screen Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. He is known for his appearance in the remakes of Telugu films during the 1980s, in which he was frequently cast opposite Sridevi and Jaya Prada. One of the most successful film stars in the Bollywood film industry, he serves as the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms, Balaji Motion Pictures and ALT Entertainment. Father of:

3- Tusshar Kapoor

Tusshar Kapoor (born 20 November 1976) is an Indian actor and producer who appears in Hindi films.  He is the founder and director of the production house, Tusshar Entertainment House. The debut film produced by his production house is Laxmi Bomb. He also co-owned Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures from 2001-2019.

4- Shraddha Das

Shraddha Das (born 4 March 1989) is an Indian film actress, model and singer who appeared in different film industries like Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Bengali and Malayalam.

5- Tisca Chopra

Tisca Chopra (born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress, author and film producer. She has acted in over 45 feature films in different languages.

Her book Acting Smart (Harper Collins), is a best seller and is being translated into Hindi. Tisca has been nominated at the New York Indian Film Festival for Best Actress for her work in 10Ml Love. One of the most beautiful and stylish actresses, Tisca is often on the best-dressed list and is a favourite with advertisers, endorsing brands like Tanishq, Titan eyewear, Olay, Horlicks, Marks & Spencer, Bajaj Motors and Kellogg's.

Japanese

1- Daisaku Ikeda

 

Daisaku Ikeda ( born 2 January 1928) is a Japanese philosopher, educator, author, and nuclear disarmament advocate. He served as the third president and then honorary president of the Soka Gakkai, the largest of Japan 's new religious movements. Ikeda is the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), the world 's largest Buddhist lay organization.

After Daisaku Ikeda survived the devastation of World War II, he start quest : " How to solve the fundamental causes of human conflict ?". Ikeda began practicing Nichiren Buddhism and joined a youth group of the Soka Gakkai, which led to his lifelong work developing the global peace movement of SGI and founding dozens of institutions dedicated to fostering peace, culture and education. His accomplishments are honored internationally.

In the 1960s, Ikeda worked to reopen Japan's national relations with China and also to establish the Soka education network of schools from kindergartens through university levels, while beginning to write what would become his multi-volume historical novel, The Human Revolution, about the Soka Gakkai's development during his mentor Josei Toda's tenure. In 1975, he established the Soka Gakkai International, and throughout the 1970s initiated a series of citizen diplomacy efforts through international educational and cultural exchanges for peace. Since the 1980s, in his annual peace proposals marking the anniversary of the SGI's founding, he has increasingly called for nuclear disarmament.

in Japan he has been described as a "controversial figure" over several decades through the 1990s in relation to the political party Kōmeitō, which he founded, and has been the subject of libelous accusations in Japanese media.Ikeda's vision for the SGI was described in 2010 by Olivier Urbain, then director of the Toda Peace Institute founded by Ikeda, as a "borderless Buddhist humanism that emphasizes free thinking and personal development based on respect for all life."

Daisaku Ikeda had published more than 50 dialogues with scholars, peace activists and leading world figures. In his role as SGI president, Ikeda has visited 55 nations and spoken on subjects including peace, environmentalism, economics, women's rights, interfaith dialogue and Buddhism and science.

2- George Takashi and 4- Mika Mifune

George Takahashi / Joji Takahashi Birth Name: Kyoji Takahashi (

 August 13, 1958). Wife: actress  Mika Mifune 

5- Kayoko Kishimoto

Kayoko Kishimoto (岸本加世子, Kishimoto Kayoko, born 29 December 1960) is an actress. She appeared in several of Takeshi Kitano's films, such as Hana-bi, Kikujiro and Dolls. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 23rd Japan Academy Prize for Kikujiro,

6- Linda Yamamoto

Linda Yamamoto is a Japanese singer and actress whose latest hit song was "Nerai uchi" ( meaning "Sharpshoot" in 1973). 

In 2001 Yamamoto tied up with the popular Harajuku toy store Kiddyland to make a line of Linda goods. She also married for the first time that year, at the age of 50, to a college professor seven years her senior. In 2005 she became the "image character" for Wanda coffee. Throughout her career, Yamamoto has appeared on Kohaku Uta Gassen five times. Her greatest hit, "Neraiuchi", was featured prominently in episode 48 of Ultraman Taro, used as a brass band version in the anime Ace of Diamond and is one of the songs in the Nintendo DS game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan.

7- Masami Hisamoto

Masami Hisamoto, (July 9, 1958 – ) is a Japanese actress, comedian and singer. She is also,

as of 2007, the head of the fine arts department of Soka Gakkai which she became an adherent

on September 28, 1984. She often promotes the conservative Soka Gakkai-backed political party

Komeito as a public speaker. She is unmarried.

8- Naoto Kine

Naoto Kine (尚登), the guitarist of the Japanese band TM NETWORK

9- Rie Shibata

Rie Shibata ( born 14 January 1959) is a Japanese actress and comedian who has appeared in a number of television programmes, feature films and stage productions. She is also the special deputy mayor of Toyama, Toyama.At the age of 28, she married a stage director of Wahaha-Hompo. She joined Soka Gakkai in 1987 and later joined the Central Committee of the Arts Department.

10- Shunsuke Nakamura 

Shunsuke Nakamura (1978), is a Japanese soccer player, midfielder for the Scottish team Celtic F.C

New Zealand 

1- Christine Rankin 

Christine Rankin (1954), is a Former head of the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development and politician. Rankin was raised Catholic, and in 2005 became a member of Soka Gakkai International.

Thank you!

 Thillai $andstrom

https://happyfamilyinheaven.blogspot.com/2017/04/buddhism-of-nichiren-in-american-pop.html