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40-704: TKWO was established by Kohno Kozo in 1960 in association with the lay-Buddhist organization Rissho Kosei Kai . Kohno, who was previously enrolled in the Toyama Academy Military Band of the Japanese Army, proposed the idea to the group's founder, Niwano Nikkyo, as a worship group. Originally known as the Tokyo Kosei Symphonic Band, it served as a ceremonial consort, with every member participating in Rissho Kosei-kai. Kiboni Moete served as

80-596: A "religious organization consisting of about 5,000 temples, 8,000 ministers and 3.8 million members worldwide." The sect does not believe in the Dai-Gohonzon revered in Nichiren Shoshu to be superior to other Gohonzons , and rejects the claim that it was truly inscribed by Nichiren as fraudulent. Although the Dai Gohonzon in itself is a valid Mandala Gohonzon, this concept of a super Gohonzon that empowers all

120-623: A believer: In addition, other popular forms of Buddhist silent meditation ( Shōdai-gyō ), singing of hymnal praises, the artistic copying of the Odaimoku ( Shakyō ), and the study of fundamental Buddhist concepts such as the Four Noble Truths , Threefold Training , Noble Eightfold Path and Taking Refuge taught by Shakyamuni Buddha are also used as supporting practices in the sect. Nichiren Shū issues calligraphic Gohonzons to its members, but statue arrangements may also be used to represent

160-479: A circle, discuss their problems or their shortcomings, and other members listen and provide advice. The discussions usually will explore how Buddhism and insight can be applied to help the person with the problem, and encourage a sense of trust and community between members. Risshō Kōsei Kai observes various Buddhist and Japanese holidays, including Parinirvana Day , Buddha's Birthday, Bodhi Day, and Higan . They also have special gatherings to mark important events in

200-482: A guest conductor for the orchestra, formally joined as a permanent instructor in 1984. Fennell is credited with increasing the band's recording output, diversity in performed compositions, and its reputation for touring performances in schools. Fennell left his conducting position in 1994 but remained as Music Director until 2000 and, as of 2014, is Conductor Laureate. He was replaced by Douglas Bostock in 2000 and by Paul Meyer in 2009. As of 2014, Takeshi Ooi

240-555: A new headquarters began. However, as membership continued to grow the new headquarters also became too small and work on the Great Sacred Hall, or daiseidō ( 大聖堂 ) , began in the late 1950s. Myōkō Naganuma, who had been serving as Vice-President, died in September 1957, seven years before the Great Sacred Hall was completed. It was also then that Risshō Kōsei Kai began to become active in interfaith co-operation. Nikkyō Niwano had

280-696: A number of UN programs, including the second Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament held in 1982. Risshō Kōsei Kai engages in numerous campaigns to end hunger and poverty, support the environment and work for peace. In the late 1960s, Risshō Kōsei Kai began to advocate the Brighter Society Movement, a public-spirited undertaking through which the local churches of Risshō Kōsei Kai cooperate with local governments, welfare organizations, and volunteer groups throughout Japan. In 1974, it launched

320-654: A private audience with Pope Paul VI at the Second Vatican Council in 1965 and later attended the 20th World Congress of the IARF in 1969. In 1970 Niwano helped to form the World Conference of Religions for Peace and became a leader of the WCRP. In 1991, Nikkyō Niwano stepped down as president and his son, Nichiko Niwano, who had been appointed successor and was at that time serving as vice president, took over as president in

360-742: A special ceremony. Nichiko Niwano had been designated his successor in 1960. In 1994, Nichiko's eldest daughter, Mitsuyo Niwano, was made Vice President and designated successor. She was given the Buddhist name Kosho by her father and grandfather and is known to members as "Kosho-sama", with -sama being an honorary suffix title in Japanese. Nikkyō Niwano continued to engage in interfaith activities and participate in Risshō Kōsei Kai activities, despite no longer being president. He died on October 4, 1999. In 2008, Risshō Kōsei Kai International of North America

400-793: A whole are venerated through the Sokaimyo. Risshō Kōsei Kai places a strong emphasis on studying the Lotus Sutra and the Buddha's teachings. They affirm the basic teachings of Buddhism, such as the Four Noble Truths , the Noble Eightfold Path and the Three Seals of the Law, among their core teachings. The Threefold Lotus Sutra is the group's chief scripture. It is viewed as containing the highest teachings of Gautama Buddha. Adherents believe that Gautama Buddha

440-501: Is a Japanese new religious movement founded in 1938 by Nikkyō Niwano and Myōkō Naganuma . Risshō Kōsei Kai is organized as a lay Buddhist movement, which branched off from the older Reiyūkai , and is primarily focused around the Lotus Sutra and veneration of ancestors . Risshō Kōsei Kai was founded on March 5, 1938 by Nikkyō Niwano and Myōkō Naganuma, both former members of the Buddhist sect Reiyūkai . Niwano met Naganuma while he

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480-415: Is also known for its more open and tolerant views of other Buddhist traditions, even mixing or incorporating various mixed Buddhist beliefs and Shinto practices into their own Nichiren Buddhist aesthetics, most notably the use of various religious statues, the red stamping practice of Shuin for novelty, esoteric combinations of Buddhist fortune-telling folk practices and Shinto magic rituals, as well as

520-643: Is highly selective about which Gosho writings it deems authentic. Many Gosho writings accepted by Nichiren Shōshū are not accepted as genuine by Nichiren Shū on grounds that scholars have not verified their authenticity. This dispute arises over the veracity of various disputed writings to be truly authored by Nichiren. The sect does not reject the alleged oral transmissions (including the Ongi Kuden ) citing "pastoral value" but cannot be definitively asserted as Nichiren's own teachings. The sect upholds five kinds of practices: There are two type of practices expected of

560-649: Is run, both religiously and administratively, by a board of directors, with the Chairman being the head. The office of the President is the highest spiritual office, and he is the chief spiritual leader and master of ceremony. The office of the President is a hereditary office held only by the direct descendants of Nikkyō Niwano. Duties include visiting churches and centers, representing Risshō Kōsei Kai at interfaith and cultural events, giving sermons, speeches and greeting guests. He holds much importance and plays an active role in how

600-760: Is the conductor. TKWO's headquarters are located on the Rissho Kosei-kai campus in central Tokyo , close to Fumon Hall, their primary recording venue. TKWO's finances are supervised by the Rissho Kosei-kai, providing financial support during local and regional concerts. TKWO has hired women as members in the upper brass, woodwinds, and percussion sections, as well as promoting pieces by Japanese women composers, including Chieko Arai and Etsuko Hori. TKWO has recorded more than 130 albums, commissioned numerous original works, sponsored band festivals and school clinics, and toured internationally with guest conductors such as Arnald Gabriel , Robert Jager , Craig Kirchhoff, and Alfred Reed . American reviewer Ron McDonald called

640-523: The Eternal Buddha , the central figure of the Lotus Sutra, instead of a gohonzon . The central temple, the Great Sacred Hall, features a statue of the Eternal Buddha that is 6.09 meters tall and 3.03 meters wide. The imagery of the Eternal Buddha used in the Great Sacred Hall, and all temple altars, is of a standing Buddha enveloped in a fiery halo, within are four, smaller Bodhisattvas: Further above

680-588: The Gohonzon . In Nichiren Shū, the following may be used as the Gohonzon : All fully ordained Nichiren Shū ministers are able to inscribe and consecrate mandalas, but in practice few of them do. They usually bestow a copy of a Nichiren inscribed mandala, called the Shutei Gohonzon , upon their members. Holidays observed in Nichiren Shū: Nichiren Shū first spread overseas with Japanese immigrants to

720-626: The Lotus Sutra as the Eternal Buddha while Nichiren is regarded as the Jogyo Bodhisattva that possesses the mission in Chapter 21 as the "votary messenger" to uphold the true Dharma in the Latter Day of the Law . The sect designates Shakyamuni as the "Original Buddha" and he alone occupies the central role in Nichiren Shū; Nichiren—referred to as Nichiren Shōnin ("Saint Nichiren")—is

760-541: The Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra . Its facilities are also used to host the world's largest music competition, the All-Japan Band Association national band contest. Nichiren-sh%C5%AB Nichiren Shū ( 日蓮宗 , School of Nichiren ) is a combination of several schools ranging from four of the original Nichiren Buddhist schools that date back to Nichiren 's original disciples, and part of

800-412: The Buddha's head is a small image of the stupa of Prabhutaratna , featured in Chapter 11 of the Lotus Sutra . Additionally, members enshrine a Sōkaimyō ( 総戒名 , "Family Posthumous Name") , which is a kind of certificate and object of veneration that represents the collective ancestors of that member. Because it is not feasible to provide each ancestor with a posthumous Buddhist name, the ancestors as

840-485: The Dai-Gohonzon alone has some kind of unique mystic power that no other Gohonzon possesses. The Dai-Gohonzon and our own Gohonzon are equal. The sect regards Nichiren as Visistacaritra and teaches that Shakyamuni Buddha is special because he was the original Buddha in recorded human history that demonstrated an exemplary model for the pursuit of Buddhism by his followers and disciples. Accordingly, Nichiren Shu shares

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880-707: The Donate a Meal Movement, in which one skips a meal twice a month and contribute the money saved to the Movement. During the last thirty years, over ¥11   billion has been donated in Japan and thousands more worldwide to the movement. There is also the Little Bags of Dreams Campaign started in 1999, in which local churches have the youth members prepare cloth bags full of toys, small gifts and cards with well wishes, for children in war torn nations, such as Northern Ireland, Palestine and

920-611: The Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra recordings "one of the major releases of the decade" and "almost an encyclopedic survey of symphonic wind music." TKWO employs guest conductors from the United States and Europe. Most of TKWO's performed pieces are of Western origin, with Fennell's tenure marking a shift towards original works by American composers. TKWO is well-known for its involvement in local schools. TKWO sponsors band workshops and gives outreach to schools, being one of

960-676: The United States, then to the Kingdom of Hawaii, Brazil and other locations in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. Presently, there are Nichiren Shū temples and Sanghas in the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, much of South America, India, Korea, Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan), and Europe. Nichiren Shū also ordains non-Japanese and non-Japanese speaking men and women, and continues to expand its presence overseas. Nichiren Shū maintains relations with other Nichiren schools and non-Nichiren schools. In 2010, Nichiren Shū described itself as

1000-771: The WRCP and Chairman of Shinshuren. The organization is also involved with the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace and maintains close ties to the Unitarian Universalist Association . The interfaith relationship with the Unitarian-Universalist Association is the closest one the latter American liberal organization has ever achieved. Risshō Kōsei Kai has supported UNICEF since 1979 and members regularly participate in campaign activities related to UNICEF. It has also supported and participated in

1040-536: The altar is the Focus of Devotion, either a scroll with an image of the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni on it or a small statue of the Eternal Buddha. Members leave offerings of rice, water and tea before the image. Another practice frequently found in Risshō Kōsei Kai services and meetings is the hōza ( 法座 , "Dharma Circle") which is a kind of informal, group session led by a trained leader, in which members sit in

1080-506: The band's conductor, while Kohno joined as an administrator. The band was renamed in 1973 as its membership and profile grew. Kohno would retire from TKWO in 1979 but continued to work in educational programs for children through music in Rissho Kosei-kai until his death on August 22, 1996. The orchestra was further developed by American conductor and founder of the Eastman Wind Ensemble , Frederick Fennell . Fennell, originally

1120-472: The church is run. However, it is the board of directors that holds the final say on all matters. Even though being regarded as a descendant of Reiyūkai and Nichiren Buddhism it has developed distinct features in terms of doctrine and objects of worship to the extent, that some regard Risshō Kōsei Kai as a separate Buddhist denomination outside of Nichiren Buddhism, thus it has a number of features in common with other Nichiren sects: Risshō Kōsei Kai venerates

1160-684: The fifth: The school is often referred to as the Minobu Sect due to its prominence within the Mount Minobu area. The school's head temple, Kuon-ji , is located on Mount Minobu where Nichiren lived in seclusion and where he asked to be buried. Another significant temple of the sect is the Ikegami Honmon-ji where Nichiren died. Accordingly, many of Nichiren's most important personal artifacts and writings, also considered to be National Treasures of Japan , are within their safekeeping. The sect

1200-538: The former Yugoslavia. The Niwano Peace Foundation was established in 1978 to promote research for world peace and religious, cultural, scientific and educational endeavors. Starting in 1983, with the exception of 1988, it has on a yearly basis given out the Niwano Peace Prize to an individual or organization that contributes to world peace. Risshō Kōsei Kai is known in the field of music for its support of several leading professional music ensembles, most notably

1240-471: The founding of the WCRP in 1970, Risshō Kōsei Kai has been actively involved with the organization and currently President Nichiko Niwano is a president of the WCRP. In 1981 Nikkyō Niwano was elected as the President of the International Association for Religious Freedom and in 1984 hosted the IARF at the Great Sacred Hall. Nichiko Niwano is currently the President of the Japanese branch of

Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-560: The most important models for school bands within Kansai. Fennell was a strong proponent of regular tours while he conducted TKWO. Ray Cramer , an American band conductor, stated that few wind ensembles existed when he first started conducting in Japan and that the popularity of TKWO started the trend of smaller instrumentation over the then-preferred large symphonic groups. Rissho Kosei Kai Risshō Kōsei Kai ( 立正佼成会 ) ; until June 1960, 大日本立正交成会 ( Dai-Nippon Risshō Kōsei Kai )

1320-682: The organizations history, such as memorial services for the Founder and Co-Founder and the Anniversary of the Founding of Risshō Kōsei Kai. Since its founding, Risshō Kōsei Kai has sought to cooperate with other religions and work with the United Nations and a variety of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Nikkyō Niwano was one of the founders of the World Conference of Religions for Peace . Since

1360-411: The others blatantly contradicted Nichiren Daishonin's teachings and, consequently, created a great feeling of mistrust with other temples of Nikko. Nichiren Shu shares similar teachings of Soka Gakkai which states the following: First, the power of any Gohonzon, including the Dai-Gohonzon, can be tapped only through the power of faith. In other words, we should be clear that it is wrong to think that

1400-571: The saint who refocused attention on Shakyamuni by rebuking other Buddhist schools for solely emphasizing other buddhas or esoteric practices or for neglecting or deriding the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren Shu regards Nichiren's own writings—called Gosho or Goibun (御 遺 文) as commentaries or guides to the doctrines of Buddhism. They include the Five Major Writings of Nichiren in which he establishes doctrine, belief, and practice, as well as many pastoral letters he wrote to his followers. The sect

1440-475: The tolerant photography and lax distribution of the calligraphic Gohonzon . Nichiren Shū does not believe Nichiren designated a single successor, as taught for instance by Nichiren Shōshū , instead they maintain that he designated six senior disciples of equal ranking to succeed him. The Six Senior Disciples designated by Nichiren were: Nichiren Shū designates the Shakyamuni Buddha of Chapter 16 of

1480-421: Was engaged in missionary work with Reiyūkai and the two became close friends. In 1938, they attended a Reiyūkai meeting in which its president made remarks that lectures and study of the Lotus Sutra were out of date. After hearing that and consulting with each other, they determined that they could not support such ideas and left Reiyūkai. It was then that they decided to form a new organization. The first meeting

1520-513: Was established because of growth of interest in the group in the United States and Canada. In summer 2009, the US celebrated the 50th anniversary of the group, holding a gathering in Las Vegas , which President Niwano attended. As of 2010 , there are over 240 churches and centers in 20 countries. Membership currently stands at 6.5   million members, with the majority living in Japan. Risshō Kōsei Kai

1560-407: Was held at Niwano's house and some 30 people joined at that time. The organization grew quickly, and by 1941, membership had reached 1,000. For a short period between 1949 and 1950, Risshō Kōsei Kai served as a lay auxiliary organisation of Nichiren-shū , but Niwano could not stem what he considered to be the liberal policies of Nichiren-shū. No longer able to meet at Niwano's house, construction on

1600-467: Was the first human to be awakened to the Dharma, which is believed to be an invisible entity that sustains, guides and improves the lives of all living things. They refer to this life force as the Eternal Buddha, teaching that it is omnipresent and universal. Members begin and end each day by chanting parts of the Lotus Sutra and saying various prayers and vows before family altars in their home. The center of

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