October 03, 1997
By Craig Green & Jeff Farr
Los Angeles
As 1990 marked the 700th anniversary of the founding of Taiseki-ji, and many SGI members prepared to celebrate the occasion, Nikken and other executive priests were planning something quite different. In July 1990, they devised a plot to forever change the relationship between Nichiren Shoshu and the SGI. Called Operation C, or more officially “The Operation to Cut Off the Soka Gakkai,” its purpose was clear: to cut off the SGI leadership and restructure the organization as one completely obedient to Nichiren Shoshu.
The plan was composed of three stages: first, changing various rules of Nichiren Shoshu, opening the way for other aspects of the plan to take place.
Second, dismissing SGI President Ikeda from his position as head of all Nichiren Shoshu lay organizations and placing restrictions on the Soka Gakkai. (The demands included prohibiting the Seikyo Shimbun from publishing any of President Ikeda’s speeches and replacing half the Soka Gakkai officers in Nichiren Shoshu with priests.)
And in the final stage, the plan called for the creation of a task force to implement the dissolution of the SGI. This task force would also be responsible for using the media to promote the “inherent justice of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood.”
If there were ever a doubt as to Nikken’s true intent, the hatching of this plan and the events that followed would lay that doubt to rest.
Nikken wanted control. And he didn’t have any patience left.
No. 8 in a series