After his efforts failed in a public school setting, he began to search for religious values upon which he could realize his ideal form of education. The deaths of family members led him to Nichiren Shōshū Buddhism, a lay-oriented and people-centered subsect of Nichiren Buddhism. Makiguchi embraced the idea that the nation would be saved by true Buddhism and that every person could be a bearer of belief and could guide others to salvation. Sōka Gakkai succeeded in developing a modern Nichiren Buddhism with the goal of enhancing the well-being of people in this world through their self-reforming efforts.
Before its explosive expansion period, its predecessor Sōka Kyoiku Gakkai suffered severe persecution. Makiguchi was jailed in 1943 for refusing to venerate the symbol of the Ise Shrine. He died in prison in 1944. Only twenty or so persons attended the service for the one-year memorial of his death in November 1945.
In 1951 Toda Jōsei reactivated the movement under the new name Sōka Gakkai and became its second president. The membership soon increased to five thousand.
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