One day, Mr Toda broke into tears, saying to my wife’s father and others present that he was afraid I would die before I reached 30, and expressing his regret for placing such a heavy burden on me in spite of my poor health. “If Daisaku dies, the future of the Gakkai is bleak!” he wept.

That’s how hard, how relentlessly, I was fighting, willing even to give my life. I’m not exaggerating; I really gave everything I had.