Mrs Kaneko Ikeda on his husband:

My husband always focuses his whole attention – body and soul – on his dialogues and lectures. When they are over, he seems exhausted. After his speaking engagements, I usually give him a massage.

After his resignation (as Soka Gakkai president in April 1979), we were deluged with letters from Soka Gakkai members. I read each one and wrote a response, and my shoulders became stiff from all the writing. I was tapping on my shoulders to relieve the tension, and he quietly came over and massaged my shoulders. That was the first time in thirty years of marriage! I was amazed at the strength in his hands. I had no idea that he was so strong.

Mr Ikeda on his wife:

When I publish a book, I often write a poem for my wife. I hope that this will make up for the times when I occasionally forget her birthday. Besides that, there is an age when you are supposed to remember a woman’s birthday and an age after which you are not supposed to remember.

I have taken photographs of my wife. I have tried to write poems for her, but, when we are face to face, we laugh or she scolds me, and it seems that we are too close. So, the poems for her never turn out quite right.