Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Seikyo Culture Seminar at Tochigi




Mukesh Williams's speech covered in Seikyo Newpaper.

Seikyo Culture Seminar at Tochigi
Lecture delivered by Dr. Mukesh Williams, Soka University
The Seikyo Cultural Seminar was held at Tochigi Peace culture center on the 7th of February. After greetings by Mr. Narumi, head of Tochigi's branch of the Seikyo Press, Dr. Mukesh Williams of Soka University delivered a lecture on the theme "The History of the Friendship between India and Japan" (photo)
Dr. Williams remarked that President Ikeda is greatly respected within the Indian society. He concluded that the efforts of President Ikeda in bringing hope and imparting courage to the common people is respected the same way in which great historical figures such as Gautam Buddha, King Asoka and Mahatma Gandhi are. Further he mentioned that the Buddhist belief that Karma can indeed be changed has gained a lot of interest among the well-informed people. In closing, there were greetings by Dr. Masami Kita of Soka University and others.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Utsunomiya Castle

The picture of Utsunomiya Castle was taken from a moving car on the 6th of February 2010. The castle is famous as a resting place of the shogun when he visited Nikko. It was burned down during the Boshin War and reconstructed in 2007. It is possible to see the fortifications made by Fujiwara Hidesato in the Heian period about 1062. The castle was under the control of the Utsunomiya clan who continued to rule for about 500 years. During the Sengoku period many battles were fought around its precincts. During one such battle Hojo attacked and burned a large portion of the caste and since then it became heavily fortified with high walls and a deep moat around it. After the defeat of the Utsunomiya by Hideyoshi, the land including the caste was taken away in 1597.