With the attendance of then high priest Suzuki Nikkyo, the administrators at the Nichiren Shoshu head temple, Taiseki-ji, stated that the government had required them to enshrine the kamifuda, a Shinto talisman, and that the head temple had decided, for its part, to obey this request. They asked Makiguchi to instruct the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai members to do the same. Makiguchi firmly refused to accept this, considering it to be incompatible with the Buddhist teachings, stating: "It is impossible to submit on this point. We will absolutely not accept the kamifuda."
Writing after the war, Toda recalled Makiguchi's words after leaving Taiseki-ji: "I grieve not so much for the destruction of one religion, as for the destruction of the entire country. ... Now, surely, is the time to admonish the state. I can't understand what the priesthood are so afraid of."
The next day, before leaving Taiseki-ji, Makiguchi personally urged the high priest to admonish the authorities, but he refused to do so, aiming to avoid oppression. It was following this refusal to accept the kamifuda that full-scale government persecution of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai began.