NSA and Non-Japanese Members in California

1. Introduction

Today there exist many religious organization of Japanese origin in the United States. Most are located in Hawaii and California, where there live many Japanese immigrants, Japanese Americans, and their descendents (hereafter referred to as ethnic Japanese). In most cases, the majority of the members of these organizations are ethnic Japanese. It has been quite difficult for these religions to attract many non-Japanese members. Generally speaking, we can point out three main reasons for this fact. The first is that Japanese religions as yet have little experience in performing missionary work in foreign countries. As a result, they have not established an efficient proselytizing method for people of different cultural backgrounds -- especially in terms of systematic missionary activities. The second is that a considerable number of ethnic Japanese tend to display uneasiness at accepting non-Japanese people as new members of their religion -- a tendency which is more pronounced when they confront either Mexicans or Blacks than Caucasians. The third is that few American have shown any, or, if at all, quite little interest in oriental religions on the whole.

The situation is gradually changing, however. Particularly after World War �U, a number of Japanese new religions expressed an intention to extend their circle to non-Japanese people. Tensho-Kotai-Jingukyo, or "dancing religion," Church of World Messianity or Sekai-Kyusei-Kyo, Sokagakkai, Perfect Liberty, and Shinnyo-en came to America, beginning missionary work not only among ethnic Japanese but also among non-Japanese people. Some were successful to a degree in obtaining non-Japanese members, while others did non meet with good results. Among these new religions, Sokagakkai has been most successful in converting non-Japanese people. According to church figures, they now have about 230,000 members, most of whom are non-Japanese. Several years after beginning missionary work, the Sokagakkai organization in America established its own name, now calling itself Nichiren-Shoshu-Sokagakkai of America (NSA),(1) an organization which includes North and South America and the Pacific area. This organization is incorporated into a branch of SokaGakkai International (SGI). The success of NSA in obtaining non- Japanese members is remarkable compared to other new religions of Japan. In the case of NSA, the percentage of non-Japanese members is over 80% in the continental U.S., and near 50% in Hawaii, while non-Japanese members are estimated to be at most 20% or less of the entire membership of other new religions. (2)

This fact itself stimulates our investigation. Why and how has the NSA been able to gain so many non-Japanese members? Conversely, in what respects did these members feel an attraction to NSA, and how did they understand its teachings? More particularly, did they feel a cultural gap when they accepted NSA teachings and daily practices? How do they perceive Nichiren, Josei Toda, or Daisaku Ikeda?

The development of NSA was so rapid that some American scholars have shown interest in NSA and carried out research on it. They have offered some explanations or hypotheses regarding the reasons for the rapid growth of NSA. J. Dator, (3) R. Ellwood, (4) E. Layman (5) and others have shown deep interest in Sokagakkai and NSA in America since the late 60's. On the other hand, there are many materials published by NSA such as "NSA Quarterly," and "World Tribune," which are very useful in tracing NSA's activities. It is possible to grasp an outline of the history and activities of the NSA by reading both previous studies and these newer materials.

The main purpose of my research surveys, which were carried out three times in Hawaii and California, (6) was to examine previous research on NSA and to further investigate other religious problems. Though I visited Hawaii twice and California once, research work on NSA itself was much more concentrated in California than in Hawaii. Moreover, the situation in Hawaii is considered to be somewhat unique because ethnic Japanese occupy nearly 30% of the total population of the islands. In the continental U.S., only about one percent of the population is ethnic Japanese, including cities in California such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento. For these reasons, I will deal only with the California case in this article.

2. Outline of NSA History and Membership

The history of NSA's activities in America goes back just over twenty years. It is not difficult to obtain a bird's eye view of it, broadly distinguishing steps of development. In order to better understand the results of the survey, the following four stage classification has been devised:

(1) The several years preceding the beginning of formal missionary work (the late 50's).

(2) The period of early missionary work (from 1960 to the late 60's).

(3) The period of most fervent proselytizing activity (from the late 60's to the late 70's).

(4) The period of more quiet activity (from the late 70's).

During the 50's, there were only few Sokagakkai members in America. Most were Japanese women who immigrated to America after their marriages to American soldiers. They had very little contact with each other, largely because they lived a good distance apart. In the late 50's, it was felt necessary to overcome this difficulty and to meet together. Masayasu Sadanaga (who later gained American citizenship and changed his name to George Williams), played an important role in organizing these members. Sadanaga came to America alone in 1957 after graduating from Meiji University in Tokyo, and studied political science at UCLA, George Washington University, and the University of Maryland. In the course of his studies, he visited the homes of Sokagakkai members, which were sometimes separated by more than 100 miles, and organized zadankai, or discussion meetings. Such activities helped lay a foundation for the inception of formal missionary work in 1960.

Daisaku Ikeda, the third president of Sokagakkai, and his party, visited Hawaii and some cities in the continental U.S. in October 1960. This visit was the starting point of formal missionary activity in America. The main aims of the earliest activities were to organize Japanese women of international marriage -- women who tended to be isolated both from the ethnic Japanese and non-Japanese communities -- and to promote shakubuku, or intensive proselytizing, of their husbands.

During the late 60's, the ethnic make up of the membership changed greatly. While the number of Japanese women married to American men was limited, there were many more opportunities for proselytizing by means of links to friends of their husbands. Once husbands joined the religion, the rate of growth increased remarkably. The proportion of non-Japanese members, especially that of Caucasian members, increased year after year in those days. In addition, this period was favorable to oriental religions. Borrowing an expression from Harvey Cox, an attitude of "Turning East" began to prevail in America, particularly along the West Coast. Under these circumstances, Sadanaga delivered lectures in more than eighty colleges and universities from 1968 to 1971. This contributed to drawing the attention of the younger generation. In the early 70's, so called "street shakubuku" was carried out most eagerly. Many young people participated in discussion meetings. Students, hippies, and drug-users tried the religion. Many dropped out quickly but some remained. Another source of shakubuku was thus formed. Consequently, the social strata of members became more diverse.

Throughout this period, it became clear that one basic characteristic of the organization had changed fundamentally: i.e., the transition from branch of Sokagakkai to independent agent of activities in America; or, in other words, Americanization of the organization had begun. For example, the incorporation of NSA was realized in 1966. The next year, the General Headquarters of America was established and Sadanaga was nominated as the first director in a foreign country. On the occasion of the nyubutsu ceremony or Gohonzon enshrining ceremony at the temple Myohoji in May of this year, Daisaku Ikeda suggested that NSA should recognize the imminence of a new situation calling for a second stage of missionary work. "World Tribune" (May 18) reported as follows:

President Ikeda related the great expansion in America headquarters, and congratulated the members on the great growth that they had made within the last seven years..... He also mentioned that we are entering a new stage of activities, and that we should participate with common sense, without mishaps.

Ikeda tends to divide SokaGakkai activities into seven-year periods each with its own distinctive characteristics. It is quite natural, therefore, that in 1967, when addressing American members seven years after the beginning of formal missionary work, he couched his message in such terms. In point of fact, however, the Japan Headquarters recognized that a drastic change was occurring during this year. In all likelihood in was this recognition that really underlay his message.

English came to be used more and more frequently in discussion meetings. Study examinations for English speakers were started. The number of non-Japanese members who took such positions as chapter chief, district chief or group chief began to increase. As these changes came to a head in the mid-70's, NSA's missionary work reached its peak. The organization officially declared their membership to be around 200,000 in the United States.

Around 1976, another change began to be observed in NSA activities. The frequency of discussion meetings decreased from almost every day to once or twice a week or even once a month. Street shakubuku was discontinued. Activities became less passionate on the whole. It seems that the number of active members stopped increasing or even began to decline. It is said that this was a result of changing emphasis from proselytizing new members to spending more time on consolidating membership and deepening beliefs. Be that as it may, this change can be considered a reaction to the rapid growth of the organization. Therefore, it may have been a time of reflection on future prospects.

3. Survey of California Members

As a result of the rapid growth of NSA, we can now find its members almost everywhere in the United States. In 1980, there existed seven territories, (8) 23 Community and Activity centers, (9) four Nichiren shoshu temples, (10) and two training centers. (11) It is natural that each branch of the organization came to show slightly different characteristics, as a consequence of the cultural and social conditions of each part of the country. Having given an outline of NSA's overall development, it is necessary to examine the organization as a whole while taking account of the social and cultural characteristics of specific areas.

Regarding this point, my research survey was limited to California members. I had already learned that there were great differences between members in Hawaii and California. (12) It is likely that a good deal of difference also exists between members in California and those in other states. As a result, when investigating certain specific issues within NSA, it would appear insufficient to attempt to analyze the membership in America as a whole.

At the same time, in the following description, I want to take the position of treating the development of NSA independently, omitting the aspect of influence from Japanese Headquarters. It goes without saying that NSA rests on the solid foundation of Sokagakkai in Japan. The beginning of missionary work in America itself was a result of decisions made by the Japanese Headquarters. In spite of this fact, I want to focus on the problems which NSA has had to face in carrying out missionary work in a foreign country.

The research survey on Californian members was carried out by questionnaires, interviews with members living near Santa Monica, and participant observation in discussion meetings. Also utilized were materials published by NSA regarding the development of the organization. First, I will refer to some of the results of the questionnaire survey, examining some points which were suggested by other scholars. Next, I would like to point out some characteristics of California members, and present some problems to be discussed in the future.

(1) On the Respondents

I asked the staff of the Santa Monica Headquarters to distribute 500 copies of my questionnaire to California members without concentrating on specific social strata, age groups etc., so that the answers might reflect the overall situation of the Californian membership. I expected to have more than 300 replies; and, in fact, I was able to collect 302, fourteen of which were incomplete -- so I will analyze 288 replies in the following discussion.

To begin with, I will present some basic data on the respondents. The numbers classified by age, sex, marital status, educational background , and ethnic background are shown in Tables 1 through 4. In order to make clear the tendencies among non-Japanese members, all data here (with exception of that on ethnic background) is cross-tabulated in the three categories of ethnic Japanese, non-Japanese, and those respondents whose ethnicity could not be determined because of omission. I asked the ethnic background of the respondents' parents, so ethnic Japanese are defined here as people with at least one Japanese parent. Other members are categorized as non-Japanese. Hereafter, I call these ethnic Japanese respondents the "J group" and non-Japanese respondents the "non-J group".

Tables 1-a and 1-b are cross tabulations of age, sex and ethnic background. Female members slightly outnumber male members. This applies to each ethnic category. But there is not much difference in the ratio of age groups between male and female. A remarkable point is that respondents in the 40-49 age group are more numerous than those in the 20-29 group. In her article, (13) Parks compared the results of two former research efforts and her own, making a table of age composition. By further comparing her table with Table 1, it seems possible to say that NSA members are, on the whole, becoming older than before. This conclusion seems likely, although results of these four surveys, including my own, cannot be compared without taking account of differences in survey methodology, particularly the means of setting a population. Looking at Table 2, my conclusion becomes more tenable, since table 2 shows that a quarter of the respondents are single and half of the respondents are married. By contrast, "NSA Seminar Report" (15) stated that 37% of respondents were single, while 47.5% were married. Oh pointed out in his 1972 survey that about 54.3% of the respondents were single, while only 36% were married (16). Taking into consideration the fact that my research was carried out in California, which has a higher than average percentage of divorced people, it is possible to say that through the 70's, there was a tendency toward an increase of married members, and a decrease of single members in NSA.

Table 3 shows the educational background of respondents. Parks states that, "More members have had some college education, more members finished four years of college education, and more have gone on to graduate school in 1979 than in 1972." The result of my research do not add further to this conclusion. It should be said that as a general trend, the educational level of NSA members is not low these days.

In Table 4, the ethnic background of respondents is shown. Concerning the ethnic background of their parents, Caucasian, Black, or Japanese in this table means that both the parents are of the same ethnic background. About half the respondents are Caucasian. Blacks also number more than the total of pure Japanese and mixed Japanese. It has often been pointed out that the ratio of Japanese members continues to decrease, while Caucasian members are increasing. Regarding this issue, I discovered extreme differences between California and Hawaii. The results of my survey in Hawaii in 1979 show that the ratios of Japanese members and non-Japanese members are almost the same, and that a quarter of the respondents are of mixed ethnic background. Caucasian members account for only 10%. This difference, of course, is a result of the difference in ethnic composition between the two states. Therefore, the ethnic composition of NSA should be referred to while taking into account that of the overall local population. This means that a possible increase in Caucasian, Black, or Mexican membership in any given part of the country should be further examined.

Not only with regard to ethnic background, but also concerning any specific issue, analysis of NSA membership must proceed from general surveys to various specific surveys, with a limited purpose of covering particular members of a particular area.

There is one more thing to say concerning basic information on the respondents. It is that most of them are, as a matter of course, rather active members. Table 5 shows this. 71.2% are in positions of district chief or higher. But these results should be taken to indicate trends only among relatively active members.

(2) Before and after Joining NSA

We now turn to the process of joining the NSA. The first year of membership, the referring individual, reasons for joining, and former religious affiliation are covered here. Table 6 shows the year of joining. In contrast to members of the J group, more than half of whom joined before 1965, most of the non-J group joined after the late 1960s. This, needless to say, is a direct consequence of directing fervent shakubuku activity at non-Japanese people during that period.

Regarding the persons who introduced them to NSA, and their reasons for joining, I have shown cross categorized tables of the year of joining and introducer(s) in Tables 7-a, b and c. Comparing the J group and the non-J group, we can observe a remarkable difference. In the case of the former, most of the introducers are family members. Maternal influence in particular is high. On the other hand, a great majority of the non-J were introduced by their friends, or NSA members who had been strangers at that time. It is apparent that the role of friends is important in missionary work in a foreign country like America. The fact that a large number of members were introduced by strangers in the period extending from the late 60's to the mid-70's is also a consequence of the fact that shakubuku was most actively practiced during this period.

One of the most interesting problems concerns the religions members were affiliated with before joining NSA. The results of this question, I suppose, were considerably influenced by the time of the survey and the population chosen by the researcher. Statistics in NSA Seminar Report show that many members were formerly Protestants of mainstream churches, Buddhists, and Catholics. These statistics are a result of the fact that the ratio of ethnic Japanese members was still high when the survey was done. In my research in Hawaii, non-Japanese respondents said that they had been Catholics, Protestants, and Mormons in that order. However, when non-Japanese are tabulated, together with ethnic Japanese respondents, Buddhism ranks third in the list of former religions of affiliation. That the members who had been Catholics were most numerous reflects the fact that there are many Catholics in Hawaii. As is shown in Table 8, the answers to this question show no particularly striking result, since each percentage seems to correspond to the actual level of each denomination in the area. Of course, some characteristics can be observed. There are slightly more former-Jewish members than might be expected. Some people formerly belonged to cults such as scientology or Science of Mind. However, the results do not demonstrate conclusively any differences in inclination to convert to NSA among any particular denominations. In the survey in Hawaii, the percentage of persons who formerly belonged to the Catholic church was as high as 38.3% of the non-Japanese respondents, again reflecting the high Catholic population in Hawaii.

In the case of the J group, naturally enough, most of those who replied to the question stated that their former religious affiliation had been Buddhism. The high percentage of the no answer category is partly because some of them were members of NSA since early childhood.

In the questionnaire, I asked the main reason why respondents had left their former religion. The answers were in the from of free discourse, with the result that I established four broad categories among the replies, including disagreement with teachings or practices of the former religion, various other complaints, no special reason, and the attractiveness of NSA. In the case of converts from Catholicism, a 58.5% majority belonged to the second category, while 28.3% could be placed in the first. In the case of converts from Protestant churches, the percentage of the first category is slightly larger and the second one is slightly smaller. When examined in detail, the figures show great differences among former-Protestant respondents, but the replies do not allow us to conclude that the reasons these members converted had some intimate connection with characteristics of these religions.

Table 9 shows reasons for joining NSA. In my survey experience NSA members tend to check plural items in answering this kind of question. This evidently means that they joined NSA with many problems to be solved in daily life. Thus each item indicates a high percentage. Among them, quite interestingly, general frustration is the highest. In most cases, the results of surveys of Sokagakkai members in Japan tell us that their reasons for joining are first, health problems, and second, economic problems. But in my survey, the ratio of health problems is rather low compared to other reasons. This may have some connection with Sadanaga's policy of putting stress on the philosophical side of NSA.

Do NSA members tend to affiliate with the religion alone, or together with their family members? As to the J group, there are many whose parents are also NSA members. On the other hand, in the case of the non-J group, the percentage of members whose parents are also members is quite low. But through both groups, we can observe the fact that maternal influence is stronger than paternal, and that mothers tend to be more religious than fathers. With regard to spouses, percentages are much higher in both the J group and the non-J group. If the "not applicable" group is excluded from calculation, 70.0% of the spouses in the J group and 33.5% in the non-J group are also NSA members. So overall, 38.5% of members' spouses are also NSA members.

Turning to the religions affiliation of member's children, 16.1% are NSA members. Here too, the percentage is higher in the J group. It should be noted that many respondents gave no answer to this question. Some children do affiliate with NSA, but far fewer affiliate with other religions. The total of the latter is less than the former. There may be several possible reasons why many of the respondents wrote no answers in this column. For example, some might not know the religion of their children, or some may have children too young to belong to a religion. However, it is clear that the percentage of members' children affiliated with NSA is smaller than the percentage of spouses, an larger than the percentage of parents. These facts alone do not seem to stimulate any further investigation.

Summing up, although NSA tends to be a family religion among the J group, affiliation is more individualistic among the non-J group. And among the latter, immediate family members tend to be members of NSA in the decreasing order of spouse, child, and parent.

(3) Understanding of the Teachings of NSA

Now that we have obtained the outline of the respondents, we should turn to their attitude toward and understandings of NSA's teaching. The history of Sokagakkai in Japan is not long, but the history of Buddhism, the true successor of which according to NSA is the Nichiren Shoshu sect, goes back more than 2000 years. Its philosophical system and world view are complete and profound. Even for Japanese, it is hopelessly difficult to explain why there are so many Buddhist sects and which teaching is the most "orthodox." Moreover, Japanese Buddhism is quite different from Indian Buddhism as a result of its introduction via China and adjustment to the Japanese cultural climate. Many scholars insist that it is no longer original "Buddhism," but Japanese-arranged Buddhism.

There is one more thing making the situation complete. Sokagakkai is recognized in Japan more as a "new religion" than as a traditional Buddhist sect. This recognition is reasonable because although Nichiren Shoshu is a traditional sect composing one of the streams originating from Nichiren himself, Sokagakkai was newly organized as a laymen's association in this century. As a result of this historical background, there exists a fundamental and complex problem regarding the identification of NSA teaching. In fact, Buddhist philosophy, teachings of Nichiren, and lectures by Toda or Ikeda are mixed together in the teachings of NSA. These are recognized by NSA members as being based on a common principle, but it is also true that each of them consists of a consistent world view and logic by itself. For example, pursuit of actual proof in this world as taught by Sokagakkai, and pursuit of the solution from earthly passions in original Buddhism in India cannot be easily related to each other. How do NSA members understand this contradictory situation?

NSA has attracted many Americans worried about general frustration, disease, economic problems, trouble with family members or job associates. This s the same as the case of her mother organization, Sokagakkai. As shown in Table 9, tabulation of replies indicates that most respondents had several problems at the same time just before joining NSA. Corresponding to this result, almost every respondent indicated many benefits he or she received after joining NSA (replies to question 10). Some described their replies concretely, and I have selected some of these, listing them in Appendix B.

Josei Toda, the second president of Sokagakkai, often told members that if they believed in the Gohonzon and chanted for self-training and improving others, sick people would become healthy, the poor would become rich and the stupid would become bright. Japanese people call this way of thinking the pursuit of "this worldly profit" (genze riyaku), which is evaluated negatively on the whole, at least on the spiritual level, even though most people seek it in their actual lives. Sokagakkai, however, thinks it important that the result of the belief be made apparent in this very world. In their terminology this is called gensho or actual proof, consisting of three main proofs with two others, that is, monsho or documentary proof and risho or theoretical proof.

"Actual proof " plays an important role also in drawing the attention of non-Japanese people. For both Sokagakkai members and NSA members, the word gensho or actual proof contains no negative connotation. In replies to the questionnaire, many respondents liked to relate stories showing that they had obtained marvelous actual proofs by chanting the Gohonzon. Many wrote down their longest sentences as answers to question 10, one of the four questions to which I requested open-ended answers. Recovery from severe disease, improvement of family members'relationships, establishment or self-confidence, betterment of financial situation, and spiritual happiness are typical answers of actual proofs that they experienced. We can characterize them as realization of individual happiness.

One question asked the most attractive point of NSA teaching. Answers, as a matter of course, corresponded to the content of answers to question 10. Some typical answers are listed in Appendix C. The pattern of the answers is not particularly diverse, and most can be summarized as follows: that people are totally responsible for their circumstances; that people can change unhappy lives to happy ones by their own efforts; that people are equal before Gohonzon and have equal opportunity for bringing out the Buddhahood within; or that their goals are attainable in the present world by merely chanting the Gohonzon eagerly.

There are some variant descriptions -- for example, along the lines that the purpose of life is to enjoy it, or that the ultimate goal is world peace through individual happiness. But most of the answers are strikingly similar.

The teachings of NSA depend almost entirely on that of Sokagakkai. While some of the content of the latter are classical interpretation of Buddhist doctrine, others are modern interpretations of Buddhist philosophy. Then, how do respondents, especially those of the non-J group, feel about NSA teachings? I asked them to list the easiest and the most difficult points of understanding in NSA teachings. In the answers to the first question, some of which are shown in Appendix D, we see a remarkable feature: namely, that 33.5% of the non-J group replied that the easiest point is 'cause and effect,' followed by 19.7% who replied 'effect of chanting.' The answers of about two third of the non-J group are' cause and effect,' 'effect by chanting,' Karma,' and related things. That is to say, matters concerning the law of changing one's individual destiny.

Cause and effect is a popular term in Japan, but it is frequently used in a negative sense, particularly as "causes occasioned by the bad behaviour of ancestors, which have bad effects on descendants." Many bad happenings, accidents, diseases of unknown cause, are often explained by using this logic in the teachings of Buddhist priests or preachers of new religions of Buddhist origin. Sokagakkai, of course, uses this logic. But at the same time, it is much more strongly emphasized that chanting in the present will bring about good effects in the future, sometimes immediately. The results of the survey show clearly that cause and effect theory is understood rather as the promise of a future possibility of success by performing good works, than as an explanation of present unhappiness, the origin of which cannot be reduced to the individual. In a sense, it is a kind of Buddhist version of a "theodicy of misfortune." Thus, such ideas as hendoku-iyaku, or changing poison to medicine, is accepted favourably by them.

With regard to what is the most difficult teaching for members, answers are diverse to some extent; but, it is possible to classify most of them into the following three categories. The first consists of terms or basic ideas in Buddhism; the second concerns teachings of Nichiren; and the third concerns the particular logic used by Sokagakkai and NSA. Ichinen sanzen, Buddahood, enlightenment, and Karma belong to the first category. Problems regarding Gosho or writings of Nichiren belong to the second. And the question of why one is totaly responsible for anything that happens to him or her, or why one should take care of people who don't want to be taken care of, or the idea of kosen rufu belong to the last.

Of these, the idea of ichinen sanzen seems to be the most difficult term for non-Japanese to understand. 10.5% of the non-J group listed this term in their replies. The concepts of eternal life or reincarnation, time without beginning, are also difficult for some members. This is partly because some conceptions or ideas of Buddhism are fundamentaly different from those of Christianity. And partly because some members feel that there exists a kind of imbalance between profound doctrines and simple practice -- that is, gongyo, or chanting to the Gohonzon every day. They feel that they have gained many actual proofs by chanting, but they seem to wonder how it became so, or how it is related to the complex teachings of Buddhism.

A proof that they regard chanting as the most important practice is shown in Table 14. Over three quarters of the non-J group think that gongyo is the most important practice. Only 3.5% gave the answer "study of teaching." It is very doubtful that understanding of teaching is a deep concern for most members of this group.

4. Changing World Views 　

The period in America from the mid-60's to the mid-70's, when NSA gained many non-Japanese members, was a time when the general interest in oriental religious was greater than it had ever been before. This trend was apparent particularly in California. Nevertheless, for many of the non-Japanese people who joinded NSA, the religion was at first felt to be entirely strange. And for most of those people, Buddhism itself presented an unfamiliar and somewhat curious belief system. As a result, it is likely that some experienced conflicts or confusion when they accepted the world view of a religion which had only recently appeared in America. Changing their religious affiliation to a belief system entirely unknown until then had the potential to cause great transformations in their life styles and ways of thinking.

As mentioned before, the daily practices of NSA are simple, but the theoretical and theological basis on which NSA stands is far from simple. It might be possible even to say that NSA's teachings consist of contradictory elements. So it should come as no surprise that as new members assimilated the world view presented by NSA, the more they were confronted with its complexity. Therefore, the following questions should be asked: How do members themselves view the changes in their ways of understanding life and the world? Why did they choose NSA instead of some other religion? In what respect did they feel difficulty when they tried to accept NSA's teachings and practices?

In order to discuss these problem, it is better to deal with individual cases in detail. My interviews with 15 members should contribute to this end.(17) In these interviews, I inquired chiefly about the following items:

a. Basic information on individual background (age, educational background, occupation, ethnic background, marital status, etc.)

b. The process of joining NSA

c. Changes in the member's attitudes toward life and their basic way of thinking after joining.

d. Awareness of the development or transformation of NSA.

e. Changes in their estimates of Christianity.

f. Understanding of Buddhist doctrine.

g. Characteristics of NSA's teachings in the context of Buddhist thought as a whole.

h. Future prospects of NSA.

First, some basic data on the 14 informants in Table 15. One of my 15 informants was a young Japanese man who came to America four years ago, hoping to live there all his life, so I omitted his case for the table. In addition, as may concern in this article is mainly with non-Japanese members, I will focus primarily on them in the following descriptions.

As is shown in the Table, half the informants are NSA staff, most are in their thirties, and all are active members. While their educational levels are high, their former religious and ethnic background and their length of membership are rather diverse.

As all the informants are active members, their basic attitudes toward NSA are common in some points. It is a matter of course that they regard NSA as the most attractive and effective religion, and that they are sure that holding firmly to belief results in good fortune. The similarity of members in their world view, basic attitude toward life, or basic patterns of thinking and so on -- a characterization often made of Sokagakkai -- is also generally true of NSA. But the similarity of members is itself a common feature of some kinds of religious organizations. So further questions must be asked regarding what distinctive similarities the members showed.

On the other hand, the informants expressed a variety of opinions in response to my questions. While a diversity of opinion is not unusual, it may well be that there is a difference between that diversity which is a result of the members' own individual personalities, and that which is a result of the nature of the questions themselves. I am more interested in the latter.

Informants revealed similarities in their descriptions of the historical development of the NSA, and the reason for changes in organizational policies. It should be noted that the atmosphere of discussion meetings changed greatly on two occasions: once in the late 60's, and once in the late 70's. There two changes were explained by informants respectively as the result of an increase in active non-Japanese members, the processes of adaptation to the whole society, and consolidation of members' beliefs. An informant who had been a member for a long time stated that almost every speech in the earlier periods had been on financial and family problems. Chanting at earlier discussion meetings would be used as a means of guaranteeing the purchase of a new car, finding a new job, a raise at their present job and the happy consummation of a marriage. The same informant said that members spoke more philosophically and spiritually in recent discussion meetings, without referring to their personal experiences much.

Recognition that the style of discussion meetings has changed, and explanations of the reasons for these changes are almost uniform; or, more correctly, stereotyped among the interviewees. This is surely because these changes prevailed at least through the whole of California, and also because members have likely been repeatedly taught the Headquarters', interpretation of the changes. In spite of this, individual estimations of the changes are substantially different, especially with regard to the second change. A majority of informants thought that particular change to be inevitable, but a few prefered the former style of more frequent and dynamic discussion meetings. In discussion meetings, participants would give testimonials, sing together, or try to learn more about various doctrines. Discussion meetings would thus contribute to mutual communication, encouragement, or mental release. One might come to discussion meetings in order to maintain friendship with other members, another might do so in order to solidify his or her belief, or another in order to express his or her feelings. Therefore, it would not be at all strange if the atmosphere and procedure of discussion meetings were different from chapter to chapter, or from meeting to meeting. In fact, however, they are almost all the same. This seems to be mainly because a high degree of organizational integrity is maintained at NSA. Although some members welcome the present style, others would prefer different types of activities.

Informants' estimations of the results of street shakubuku were also in general agreement. They all admitted that street shakubuku had not been productive. One informant said that he had converted more than 100 people to NSA, another said that he had converted more than 150, but both confessed that only a few persons remained as members. And yet it cannot be said that street shakubuku was a futile gesture. An informant who is now in a very important position in the organization was converted as a result of street shakubuku when she was in a restaurant with her husband. Another who was introduced to NSA by street shakubuku remains a member even though the introducing member himself has left the organization.

It is difficult to decide whether it might have been more profitable for NSA to continue street shakubuku rather than to discontinue it. But in fact, NSA chose the path or reducing friction with surrounding society by stopping street shakubuku, rather than to attempt to obtain a few more new members by continuing it. The similarity of informants' replies to this issue might be the result of their accepting the necessity of this reorientation of policy.

There was some veriety in the informants' descriptions of how they came to know of the existence of NSA, why they joined it, what kinds of social reaction occurred toward them after joining, or how they themselves changed after joining. Reasons for joining were, needless to say, varied, but it is noteworthy that almost every non-Japanese informant stressed that not merely NSA but Buddhism as a whole constituted an entirely strange religion for him or her before they were converted. One informant said that Buddhism had been a strange belief in the 60's, and although it was now a little less strange, it remained unusual. He also mentioned a case in which a bomb had been thrown at a Buddhist home in the late 50's merely because the family were Buddhists.

Therefore, when the non-Japanese informants joined NSA -- which at that time was among the least known of the Buddhist organizations -- various reactions occurred in their families. In the case of parents, most were very alarmed at first. In a few cases, however, parents changed their attitude, and came to welcome the conversion of their child, and sometimes even became members themselves, because their child's attitudes toward life had so strikingly improved. In other cases, parents were greatly disappointed at the conversion, maintaining this feeling even now.

Most of the non-Japanese informants expressed the opinion that they had greatly changed their basic attitudes toward life after conversion. Although it is quite natural that these attitude changes take a number of forms, one common characteristic can be pointed out by comparing their stories. This common element is that while most said they had been shy and withdrawn before conversion, afterwards they had a positive attitude toward life and were filled with self-confidence. Conversely, it might be said that those people who remain members are precisely those who were able to change their attitudes in this way.

I have shown an outline of the questions in interviews, categorizing them into eight items. Among these, I am most interested in items e and f. It was my initial belief that people who had grown up in a culture based primarily on a Christian world view might feel a considerable culture gap, or strong reluctance to accept the Buddhist world view. However, most of my informants stated they had not felt much difficulty in understanding NSA teachings. Of course we must keep in mind the fact that a number of years have passed since they joined, so that their present explanations are probably influenced by a number of historical factors. In other words, if they had been asked the same questions just after conversion, their replies might have been substantially different.

Apart from this point, a uniform element in their responses is that they felt Buddhist logic or teaching to be more accessible than Christian doctrine. Some informants denied any belief in Christian teachings. But they all prefer the Buddhist "way of thinking." Some of the main points of their responses are as follows:

(1) While one's destiny is decided by God in the Christian system, one can change his or her destiny by practice in Buddhism.

(2) While there are many fantastic points in the teachings of Christianity, Buddhist teaching is realistic and able to cope with the scientific way of thinking.

(3) While problems relating to the world after death are too frequently referred to in Christian churches, problems directly concerning daily life are discussed in NSA teachings.

(4) Christian logic is deductive, but Buddhist logic is inductive.

Summing up the replies, it is possible to say that these non-Japanese informants regard Buddhist or NSA teachings as something that encourages people to improve themselves without their ultimate destiny being fixed in advance. It goes without saying that the informant' understanding of Christianity and Buddhism are their own unique interpretation, and that there are many other possible interpretations based on a comparison of these two world religions. However, even if their understanding of Buddhism is a unique or personal one, it is apparent that they do not feel comfortable with Christian theology or logic.

There may, of course, be other reasons why those informants who were once affiliated with Christian churches quite, and joined NSA. It is likely that they disagreed with certain activities of their former churches. Nevertheless, it remains important that the non-Japanese informants expressed a high degree of agreement with Buddhism at the level of logic and theology.

5. Conclusion

California is one area where many oriental religions have been popular in the past two decades. NSA also obtained many Caucasian members in the Los Angeles area at first. So when considering the rapid growth of the NSA there, one should consider at least two explanatory viewpoints. The first concerns how this growth relates to the so-called "counter-culture" movement, since NSA's rapid expansion coincided with the period of time in which the counter-culture movement flourished, and in the specific locale where it was most influential. The second perspective views this rapid expansion as the result of a specific religion's foreign missionary work -- missionary work that is the best organized and most intensive of any Japanese-religion thus far. Though the first viewpoint certainly deserves consideration, my approach in this article concentrates on the second. It is true that the growth of NSA and the counter-culture might have some connections, since for example, in the 60's a large number of the members of both movements were in their teens and twenties. It is also apparent that some members of NSA had former experiences with other oriental religions. Some scholars even regard the NSA as part of the counter-culture movement. But it seems more correct to view NSA as a non-political and rather conservative organization. It contributes to group reorganization of belief systems and the re-establishment of a new principle of behavior.

From the second viewpoint, it is most important to make clear in what ways the NSA differs from other Japanese religions which are attempting missionary work in America. The main characteristics of NSA missionary activities seem to be their initial focusing on Japanese women of interracial marriage, their overcoming the language barrier in the early stages missionary work, their emphasis on NSA teachings as universally applicable, and the systematic assistance and support they receive from Japanese headquarters. Moreover, it should be noted that NSA teachings and logic seem to be in agreement with the way of thinking of many American people.

NOTES

1. NSA was first an abbreviation of Nichiren Shoshu of America. The organization changed its name to Nichiren Shoshu Academy in 1973. At Present, its formal name is Nichiren Shoshu-Sokagakkai of America. But the abbreviation has always been the same.

2. The percentage may, of course, be higher than 20 if one limits the population to some narrowly limited area. The Church of World Messianity in California is such a case. See Yamada: "Healing, conversion and Ancestral Spirits," Article �[ of this report. But figures are very small when the population is set to the scale of the entire area of the United States.

3. James Allen Dator, Soka gakkai, Builder of Third Civilization: American and Japanese Members, University of Washington Press, 1969.

4. Robert S. Ellwood Jr., The Eagle and the Rising Sun: Americans and the New Religions of Japan, The West minster Press, 1974.

5. Emma McCloy Laymanm, Buddhism in America, Nelson-Hall, 1976.

6. Research survey in Hawaii were carried out in the summers of 1977 and 1979. My survey in California was conducted in the summer of 1981.

7. But this figure should be thought to be the total number of people who had received gohonzon until that time. The number of active members is likely much smaller than the stated number, because a considerable number of members had dropped out of the group.

8. Designated as the Northeastern, Southeastern, Midwestern, Southwestern, Northwestern, Northern California and Pacific territories.

9. There are located in Santa Monica, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, East Los Angeles, Hawaii, Kansas City, New York, North Hollywood, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Ana, Santa Monica, Seattle, Washington D.C., and West Los Angeles.

10. The Ashuzan Myosenji in Washington D.C., Enichizan Myohoji in California, Jakkozan Joseiji in Hawaii, and New York Temple in New York.

11. Located in Malibu, California and Maui, Hawaii.

12. See my case study of Hawaiian members. Inoue, "Ibunka no nakano Shinshukyo Undo" (New Religion in Foreign Culture: A Case Study of NSA in Hawaii), Journal of Religious Studies 249, 1981.

13. Yoko Y. Parks, "Nichiren Shoshu Academy in America," Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 7-4, 1980.

14. In spite of this, active members of NSA are still younger on the average than members of Christian churches.

15. NSA Seminar Report 1968-1971, World Tribune Press, 1972.

16. John Kie-chiang Oh, "The Nichiren Shoshu in America," Review of Religious Research, 14, 1973.

17. Interviews were conducted at the Santa Monica Headquarters. Each interview lasted for two or three hours.