Daisaku Ikeda, head of global Japanese Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai, dies at 95

TOKYO — Daisaku Ikeda, who headed Soka Gakkai, a Japanese Buddhist organization, that includes famed musician Herbie Hancock and other celebrities in its fold, has died at 95, the Japanese religious organization said Saturday. An educator, photographer and poet, Ikeda played a key role in spreading the teachings abroad, founding Soka Gakkai International in 1975. “Even though the roots of jazz come from the African American experience, my feeling has always been that jazz really developed from a noble aspect of the human spirit common to all people, the ability to respond to the worst of circumstances and to create something of great value, or as Buddhism says, to turn poison into medicine,” Hancock said in a book about jazz and Buddhism, co-authored with Shorter and Ikeda. Other famous Western actors, writers and sports stars have expressed interest in Soka Gakkai, including Hollywood movie stars Orlando Bloom and Kate Bosworth, as well as the late singer Tina Turner.