Ryōbu Shintō is marked less by a single emblem than by a whole visual and ritual environment in which Shintō and esoteric Buddhism interpenetrate. Central to this environment are the paired mandalas known as the Two Realm Mandala (Ryōkai Mandara): the Womb World and the Diamond World. In this syncretic reading, they are not only Buddhist cosmograms but also a way of seeing the kami realm and the Buddhist realm as two aspects of a single sacred universe. The identification of Amaterasu Ōmikami with Dainichi Nyorai is a key thread here, so that solar imagery, especially the sacred mirror associated with Amaterasu, can be contemplated alongside the icon of Dainichi as expressions of one luminous reality. Rather than erasing distinctions, these symbols invite contemplation of how different forms and names may disclose a shared depth.

Another characteristic feature is the iconography of kami as gongen, that is, as manifestations or “trace forms” of buddhas and bodhisattvas. In such imagery, Shintō deities may appear with Buddhist halos, seated on lotus bases, or otherwise framed within a recognizably Buddhist visual grammar, while still retaining their identity as local kami. This is closely related to the broader honji-suijaku logic, in which the buddhas are understood as the “original ground” and the kami as their compassionate appearances within the Japanese landscape. The result is a layered symbolism in which a single figure can be read on multiple levels, depending on whether one attends more to the Shintō or to the Buddhist dimension.

The sacred spaces themselves become symbols of this dual structure. Torii gates and shrine buildings may be paired or intertwined with temple halls, pagodas, and other Buddhist architectural forms, so that the worshipper moves through an intentionally hybrid environment. Within such complexes, traditional Shintō implements like mirrors and other ritual objects can stand side by side with Buddhist items such as bells or incense burners, visually enacting the theological synthesis. The overall effect is that Ryōbu Shintō is recognized not by a unique badge or crest, but by a constellation of shared symbols—mandalas, mirrors, gongen images, and combined shrine–temple layouts—that together express a vision of kami and buddhas as two faces of one sacred cosmos.