In October 1956, Mr Ikeda first visited Yamaguchi Prefecture. He stayed for a total of 22 days during three rounds of campaign through January 1957. The prefectural membership of more than 400 households later grew tenfold. This membership growth not only became the very foundation of the Chugoku Soka Gakkai but greatly contributed to the increase in the national membership of over 750,000 households. ​