Election Aftermath, a New Beginning

Election Aftermath, a New Beginning (86-90, 1470-1478)

“… activities for kosen-rufu must cover all fields of society – politics, education, culture, science, even peace movements.”

After the polling ended, members glued themselves o the radio to hear the election results. The news was good for Kansai, not so good for Tokyo.
On his flight from Osaka to Tokyo, Shinichi reflected on the just finished campaign and on the future growth of the Soka Gakkai. During the journey of kosenrufu, the members would be engaged in political activities. This would lead the public to mistakenly suspect that the Soka Gakkai was some sort of political group; those in power would resort to all kinds of interference. Yet the members must not forget that their faith formed the basis for everything.
Kosenrufu, he realized, must advance within the realities of society. In the society of man, however, there was nothing but contradiction, causing tremendous chaos. He continued to ponder this apparent dilemma. He wondered what would his mentor would say?
In the Headquarters in Tokyo, President Toda, his mood one of gloom, meditated on the loss in Tokyo. His mind became occupied with determination to achieve kosenrufu. Shinichi arrived at the HQ and joined the president. After a brief ‘welcome home’, President Toda suggested that they meet the next day.
In the House of Councilors election, of the six candidates from the Soka Gakkai, three had won, three had lost. During the five years since President Toda’s inauguration, the Soka Gakkai had achieved complete victory in every campaign. This time, though, it was 50% victory, 50% defeat. To most members it had come as an absolute disaster.
Toda, at first subscribing to the total defeat thought, then realizing that the victory in Osaka was a splendid triumph, became convinced that Shinichi Yamamoto could make the impossible task of kosenrufu possible.
Toda continued his meditation: it was vital that the Soka Gakkai remain a group of people who always strove to strengthen their faith. Considerate guidance and fostering in faith was of paramount necessity. Quantity was important but quality was even more so.
Toda began to think about reorganization. The 16 chapters centered on the headquarters was too simple to guarantee that essential guidance would reach every activity center and every individual throughout the country. A bold, drastic restructuring would be necessary.
Kosenrufu must be an undertaking to nurture truly capable and respectable people on the soil of the Mystic Law in every field of human society.