Deity Family Tree: Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Wisdom Kings & Guardians | Japonista Archive

BUDDHIST STATUES & SACRED ART · SYSTEM MASTER

Navigation: How to Read This Tree · Root Map · Nyorai · Bosatsu · Myōō · Ten & Guardians · Specialized & Syncretic · Ensembles & Mandala · Period & Materials · Collector Use

Curator’s Note: This is not a devotional directory and not a mythology list. It is a classification system. In Japanese religious art, names drift across time, schools, and local cults—but function remains stable. Read this page as a map: Function → Class → Subtype → Iconographic Grammar → Name (last).

How to Use This Tree

Skipping steps produces misidentification. This system is designed to be applied in the field: at temples, in museums, and in the market.

1. Body first: confirm Posture & Stillness.
2. Hands second: confirm Mudra Visual Grammar.
3. Tools last: confirm Implements & Attributes.
4. Class before name: use the class masters: Nyorai · Bosatsu · Myōō.
5. Context check: ensemble logic via Triads & Mandala Deep Dive and stewardship via Condition & Restoration Ethics.

Root Map (Tiered Branching)

• Tier 0 (Root): Deity Family Tree (classification spine)
• Tier 1 (Category Hubs): Nyorai Deity Hub · Bosatsu Deity Hub · Myōō Deity Hub · Ten & Guardians Hub · Specialized & Syncretic Hub
• Tier 2 (Deity Dossiers): single-deity pages with history, iconographic grammar, ensembles, period variation, and collector notes

I. Nyorai (Buddhas)

Function: Completion, doctrinal closure, stabilized awakening.

Nyorai do not intervene. They embody the end-state that other classes support, guide toward, enforce, or defend. Their imagery is conservative by design: legibility is created through restraint.

Lateral reference: Nyorai System Master · Period Masters

Core Nyorai Dossiers (Tier 2)

• Shaka Nyorai (Śākyamuni) — historical awakening; teaching authority; triad logic.
• Amida Nyorai (Amitābha) — Pure Land doctrine; rebirth logic; raigō imagery.
• Yakushi Nyorai (Bhaiṣajyaguru) — healing doctrine; medicine jar grammar; Nikko/Gakko attendants.
• Dainichi Nyorai (Mahāvairocana) — esoteric root; mandala centrality; cosmic principle.

System Sets & Index Pages

• Five Wisdom Buddhas (Gochi Nyorai) — System Page
• Thirteen Buddhas (Jūsanbutsu) — Ritual System
• Nyorai Iconography Index

II. Bosatsu (Bodhisattvas)

Function: Vow-based engagement—availability, method, compassionate access.

Bosatsu are not “lesser Buddhas.” They operate by choice, not deficiency: they remain within conditions where beings can still be reached. Their diversity is the system’s adaptability.

Lateral reference: Bosatsu System Master · Mudra · Implements

Primary Bosatsu Dossiers (Tier 2)

• Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokiteśvara) — Core Dossier — compassion ecosystem; iconographic range.
• Monju Bosatsu (Mañjuśrī) — wisdom; lion mount; sword & sutra grammar.
• Fugen Bosatsu (Samantabhadra) — practice; vow discipline; elephant symbolism.
• Jizō Bosatsu (Kṣitigarbha) — liminal guidance; staff-jewel grammar.
• Seishi Bosatsu (Mahāsthāmaprāpta) — strength; Amida triad logic.
• Miroku Bosatsu (Maitreya) — future Buddha; temporal doctrine; hankaza logic.

Kannon Ecosystem (Sub-Tree)

• Kannon Forms System
• Senju Kannon (Thousand-Armed) — Dossier
• Jūichimen Kannon (Eleven-Headed) — Dossier
• Batō Kannon (Horse-Headed) — Dossier

III. Myōō (Wisdom Kings)

Function: Disciplined intervention—restraint, containment, force as compassion.

Myōō appear where guidance fails. Wrath is not mood; it is method. Their weapons, ropes, and flames are doctrinal instruments that stabilize reality under pressure.

Lateral reference: Myōō System Master · Implements · Posture

Core Myōō Dossiers (Tier 2)

• Fudō Myōō — sword/rope grammar; controlled flame architecture; immovable restraint.
• Aizen Myōō — passion transformed; paradox discipline; esoteric function.
• Gōzanze Myōō — subjugation; multi-arm logic; ignorance restraint.
• Daiitoku Myōō — obstacle conquest; six-face logic; bull symbolism.
• Kongōyasha Myōō — fierce compassion; vajra emphasis; enforcement logic.

Myōō Sets & Index Pages

• Five Great Myōō (Godai Myōō) — System Page
• Myōō Implements Index

IV. Ten & Guardians

Function: Defense of doctrine, space, and practice environment.

Guardians do not awaken beings. They protect the conditions in which awakening is possible: gates, directions, boundaries, temple space, and mandala architecture.

Cross-reference: Triads & Mandala · Collector Decision Guides

Key Guardian Dossiers & Systems (Tier 2)

• Shitennō (Four Heavenly Kings) — System Page
• Bishamonten (Vaiśravaṇa) — Dossier
• Niō (Gate Guardians) — System Page
• Taishakuten (Śakra/Indra) — Dossier
• Bonten (Brahmā) — Dossier

Directional & Architectural Logic

• Guardian Placement & Temple Architecture
• Mandala Boundary Guardians

V. Specialized & Syncretic Figures

Function: Mediation—ritual need, local cult, syncretic systems, liminal roles.

Some figures sit between systems. They resist strict taxonomy because their function is transitional: between Buddhism and local practice, between household ritual and temple doctrine, between prosperity cult and protective iconography.

Core Dossiers (Tier 2)

• Benzaiten — Dossier
• Kishimojin — Dossier
• Daikokuten — Dossier
• Ebisu — Dossier

Syncretic Systems (Tier 1–2)

• Seven Lucky Gods (Shichifukujin) — System Page
• Shinbutsu & Honji-Suijaku — System Page

VI. Ensembles, Triads & Mandala

Single statues are frequently misread because doctrine is distributed across ensembles. The same figure’s meaning changes when it is central icon, attendant, or boundary guardian.

• Triads & Mandala Deep Dive — System Master
• Amida Triad — System Page
• Shaka Triad — System Page
• Yakushi Triad — System Page
• Taizōkai & Kongōkai Mandala — System Page

VII. Period, School & Material Context

Period logic prevents two collector catastrophes: mistaking abstraction for damage, and “improving” statues through destructive restoration.

• Period Masters (Asuka → Kamakura) — Master
• Heian Esoteric Style — System Page
• Kamakura Realism — System Page
• Materials: Wood / Lacquer / Gilt — System Page

VIII. Collector Use (Decision Discipline)

This family tree is a buyer safety tool. It exists to prevent misidentification, over-restoration, and fabricated completeness.

• Collector Decision Guides
• Condition & Restoration Ethics
• Buyer Guide: Avoid Over-Restored Statues
• Buyer Guide: Missing Hands > Replacements
• Buyer Guide: Read Before the Name

Publication Lock

Curator’s Note: This page is the root map. Category hubs and deity dossiers must not contradict the functional hierarchy established here. Names may vary across sect and period; functional roles do not.