Daisaku Ikeda
is an avid and prolific poet. He works in the traditional Japanese poetic forms,
which compress feeling and observation into a few brief lines. At the same time,
he works in an expansive, free meter form in which a single poem may consist of
several hundred lines
Ikeda is also active as a photographer. He describes his photographs as
a “struggle to capture the truth.” Many are taken during the brief interludes
of his travels.
Poetry
Ikeda’s love of poetry and literature began in childhood. He counts Walt Whitman
and Victor Hugo among his most important influences. He likes to celebrate, in
oceanic cadences, the dignity of ordinary people’s lives. He is committed to
reviving poetry and the poetic spirit in public life; he has written poems for
such figures as Rajiv Gandhi and Corazon Aquino. In this sense, poetry has been
an integral part of his efforts at citizen diplomacy.
Ikeda has received several awards for his poetry. In 1981 he was awarded
the title of "Poet Laureate" by the World Academy of Arts and
Culture, India. He is also a nonresident member of the Brazilian Academy
of Letters.
Photography
Ikeda is also an amateur photographer, and an exhibition of his photographs
entitled "Dialogue with Nature" has toured several countries. Commenting on his
photography, Ikeda has written, “I am not and never have been a professional
photographer…I would be very happy if I am able to share, to some small extent,
my joy at communing with nature, the ‘mirror of the heart’.”
