Kyushu members were deeply moved by Ikeda Sensei’s firm resolve to realise the vision his mentor had bequeathed to him.​

It was in Kyushu that President Toda had declared, in April 1957, his wish for the members there to strive not just for kosen-rufu in Kyushu, but for the broader vision of kosen-rufu in all of Asia.​​

In October that same year, roughly six months before he passed away (on April 2, 1958), President Toda was already extremely weak physically. Nevertheless, he travelled all the way from Tokyo for the inaugural meeting of Kyushu General Chapter in Fukuoka, which many youth attended. He walked one lap around the stadium where it was held, encouraging more than 30,000 members and calling out to them: “I’m counting on you, mighty champions of Kyushu!”​

Later, President Ikeda reflected: “What did Mr Toda mean when he said that he was counting on the members of Kyushu? What was the mission he was entrusting to them? . . . It is clear as day that he was asking them to become pioneers of kosen-rufu in Asia and the entire world.”​

It was thus that President Ikeda decided to meet with the members of Kyushu on the first January 8 after his inauguration.​

Addressing the Kyushu members, President Ikeda announced: “On January 28, I will travel to India and countries in Southeast Asia. . . . I will take a stone plaque . . . with the words ‘Kosen-rufu in Asia’ engraved on it, and inter it there.” Thunderous applause reverberated throughout the room. The members were deeply moved by his firm resolve to realise the vision his mentor had bequeathed to him.​

President Ikeda’s actions were a beautiful, shining expression of the bond between mentor and disciple.​