The autobiographical novel of Daisaku Ikeda, president of SGI. 1974: Shin'ichi Yamamoto's initiatives to spread a culture of peace bear fruit, and the kosen rufu movement begins to be understood even where it was previously viewed with suspicion. President Yamamoto travels to Panama, then to Peru, where he receives the keys to the city of Lima, and to California, where he is awarded honorary citizenship of San Diego. In Okinawa, the youth of the Soka Gakkai collect the experiences of World War II survivors, a valuable testimony that will serve as a warning for the future about the tragic consequences of the war.
1974 is also the year when Shin'ichi Yamamoto travels to China and the Soviet Union. The opening of friendly relations between the universities and his efforts to establish sincere dialogues are the beginning of a path toward friendship and trust between nations long hostile to each other. Toward the end of the year, President Yamamoto is back in Beijing, where a historic meeting is held that was wholeheartedly desired by China's seriously ill Premier Zhou Enlai. Yamamoto also later meets with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to present his proposals aimed at international détente.
