QUICKLINKS

"Your happiness and victory in life hinge on whether you can grasp, while you are still young, the fact that happiness lies within. That's why there is no need for you to compare yourselves to others but instead strive powerfully and cheerfully to develop your state of life, aiming to improve yourselves each day. From that struggle will bloom noble flowers of mission, flowers of happiness that are yours and yours alone."
—Daisaku Ikeda, President Soka Gakkai International
September 1, 2006 World Tribune

The Young Women's Division was founded on July 19, 1951 by second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda. This group includes young women from ages 13–34 in the SGI, who support one another in their Buddhist practice. The YWD Vow represents our commitment to our mentor and to ourselves to become the happiest women in the world.

President Ikeda writes about the Young Women's Division:
"You who possess this lofty, noble philosophy are the women who will lead the next era. You all must strive to become capable of doing so. As daughters and disciples of Nichiren Daishonin, as pioneers of the Daishonin's Buddhism, you all have vital roles to play in spreading its teachings, in bringing happiness to our friends across Asia and throughout the world. I hope you will be deeply aware of your noble mission and continue to further your understanding of Buddhism through study..." (The New Human Revolution, Vol. 5, "Victory" chapter)

You can find out more about the founding for YWD in these sections of The Human Revolution: