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February 11, 2000
Soka Gakkai Members Sue High
Priest and Head Temple
By Ted Morino
Editor In Chief
Some Soka Gakkai members in Japan have recently sued High
Priest Nikken Abe and Taiseki-ji, the head temple of Nichiren
Shoshu, over their destruction of Grand Main Temple (Sho-Hondo).
Three class action suits have been initiated:
• Fifteen Soka Gakkai members from Fujinomiya City,
where Taiseki-ji is located, sued High Priest Nikken and
Taiseki-ji at the Shizuoka District Court on Jan. 17.
They seek around $219,000 in compensation for the psychological
duress they say they have suffered from the temple?s destruction.
According to the document they submitted to the court,
they all made monetary offerings in 1965 for the construction
of the Grand Main Temple, cutting down exhaustively on
their daily expenses to do so. The plaintiffs contend
that their offerings were made with the understanding
they were given from Nichiren Shoshu that the Grand Main
Temple would be maintained far into the future. The original
conditions governing the donations have been breached,
they claim.
• Twelve Soka Gakkai members in Numazu City, Shizuoka
Prefecture, filed a similar suit against High Priest Nikken
and Taiseki-ji on Jan. 25. They seek around $79,000 in
compensation for the donations they offered to Nichiren
Shoshu for the upkeep of the Grand Main Temple. They argue
that the reasons given by the priesthood for the temple?s
demolition were invalid, this constituting a breach of
good faith.
• Tadao Nomoto, a Soka Gakkai member in Hachioji
City, Tokyo, filed a suit against High Priest Nikken on
Jan. 26 for the return of about $49,000 that his mother
donated to Nichiren Shoshu in 1990. The plaintiff, executor
of his deceased mother?s estate, charges that the donation
was specifically for the maintenance of the Grand Main
Temple. His mother received a citation signed by High
Priest Nikken that reads “we gratefully accept this
contribution, made and kept for the maintenance of the
Grand Main Temple so that it may be bequeathed to posterity
in perpetuity.”
High Priest Nikken?s remark earlier this year that
“the Grand Main Temple was nothing but the epitome
of slander, because its foundation was offerings from
Soka Gakkai members” was the last straw for these
Soka Gakkai members.
Tomomi Hara, one of the Fujinomiya plaintiffs, explains:
“As we reside near Taiseki-ji, we saw the Grand
Main Temple being dismantled every day. It was indeed
a painful sight. I could not hold back tears of regret.
We have been bearing with this situation, but in January
this year, High Priest Nikken went on to call the Grand
Main Temple the epitome of the Soka Gakkai?s slander.
We could not hold back our anger at his distortion of
the truth. Since the priesthood?s mentality is so off—so
far from understanding the sentiments of ordinary people—they
don?t understand how much we went through to save money
for the Grand Main Temple?s construction. Because of
their strange mentality, they went ahead to destroy
the Grand Main Temple without a second thought, never
giving us any notice of their decision and ensuing action.”
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