Daisaku Ikeda's first published work was "Pestalozzi the Great Educator," published in 1949 under the pen name Shinichiro Yamamoto. This article is a companion piece to the English translation of that work, which appears in the From the Archives section of this issue of "Schools." This article introduces the origin and substance of Ikeda's maiden work, and its major themes, including the significance of Ikeda's pen name, the importance he places on mothers, the continuing presence of Pestalozzi in Ikeda's thought and writings, and, most important, the work's relevance to Ikeda's most enduring educational philosophy, "ningen kyoiku," or "human education."