Rev. Nikkyo Niwano, the late founder and first president of of Rissho Kosei-kai. He was born in 1906 in Nigata Prefecture, in northern Japan. His dedication to studying the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and applying them to daily life led him to found Rissho Kosei-kai, a lay Buddhist organization, in 1938, with Mrs. Myoko Naganuma. He later worked for world peace through inter religious dialogue and cooperation. He was awarded the Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion in 1979. A former president of the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF), he was also an honorary president of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP) and honorary chairman of Shinshuren at the time of his death in October 1999.