ABSTRACT
Three religious movements founded in the twentieth century - Soka Gakkai, Rissho Koseikai and Nipponzan Myohoji - are often singled out as examples of contemporary Japanese socially engaged Buddhism. All three stand in the tradition of the Lotus Siitra and the Buddhist teacher Nichiren (1222-1282); their members, as a primary practice, regularly recite the sutra and chant its title or daimoku in the formula Namumyoho-renge-ko, as Nichiren advocated. 1 All three, on the basis of these explicitly religious practices, undertake additional efforts in society aimed at the achievement of "world peace." But it would be too simplistic to view these contemporary movements as emanating in a straight, unproblematic line from either Nichiren or the Lotus Sutra, as introductory presentations often do. Despite their shared Buddhist heritage, their readings of the Lotus Sutra and of Nichiren's teachings are not the same, nor does Nipponzan Myohoji's style of social engagement resemble that of Soka Gakkai or Rissho Koseikai. In what sense does the commitment to peace shared by these three movements derive from Nichiren's teachings? How, and to what extent, have their specific forms of activism been shaped by other, more recent cultural and historical influences? And what is the role of the Lotus Sutra in their social engagement?
