Visual Grammar Hub: How to Read Buddhist Statues | Japonista Archive
BUDDHIST STATUES & SACRED ART · VISUAL GRAMMAR HUB
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Pillar context: Buddhist Statues & Sacred Art
Curator’s Note: This Visual Grammar Hub functions as the control tower of the Buddhist Statues & Sacred Art archive. It introduces no new doctrine. Its role is to organize, stabilize, and interlink the system masters that govern correct reading, identification, stewardship, and ethical handling of Buddhist statues.
How to Use This Hub
Begin with posture. Confirm class. Cross-check mudra and implements. Only then proceed to naming. This order prevents the most common and costly misidentifications.
Core Visual Grammar Masters
- Posture & Stillness — how bodies encode completion, availability, or force
- Mudra Visual Grammar — how hands function as closure, interface, or command
- Implements & Attributes — how tools define method, authority, and action
Doctrinal Class System Masters
- Nyorai System Master — completion, doctrinal closure, stabilization
- Bosatsu System Master — vow, availability, compassionate engagement
- Myōō System Master — disciplined intervention and restraint
Authority Expansion Masters
- Period Masters (Asuka → Kamakura)
- Collector Decision Guides
- Triads & Mandala Deep Dive
- Condition & Restoration Ethics
Recommended Reading Order
- Posture & Stillness
- Mudra Visual Grammar
- Implements & Attributes
- Class System Masters (Nyorai → Bosatsu → Myōō)
- Ensemble Logic (Triads & Mandala)
Stewardship Principles
- Preserve legibility over beauty
- Context outranks surface appearance
- Absence is preferable to invention