Written by one of the leading scholars of Japanese religion, Lords of Life is the fifth and last book of a multivolume project that stands as a milestone in our understanding of the mythico-ritual system of esoteric Buddhism—specifically the nature and roles of deities within the religious landscape of medieval Japan and beyond. Bernard Faure introduces readers to medieval Japanese religiosity, highlighting the central role of gods in religious discourse and ritual. In doing so, he departs from traditional textual, historical, and sociological approaches that constitute the "method" of current religious studies. Instead, Faure draws on theoretical insights from structuralism, post-structuralism, and Actor-Network Theory to retrieve the "implicit pantheon" (as opposed to the "explicit orthodox pantheon") of esoteric Japanese Buddhism (Mikkyō).
In the earlier volumes—The Fluid Pantheon and Predators and Protectors— Faure argued against a polarity or dichotomy between buddhas and kami by emphasizing the existence of deities that did not belong to either category, and he rejected the retrospective notion of "hybridity." In Rage and Ravage, he made a similar case about the reified distinction between gods and demons to show that, due to the fluid nature of the Japanese pantheon, these terms do not represent stable identities: gods can become demons, and demons are sometimes deified. From Stars to Stones, the fourth volume, showed how mythological notions influenced (and in return were transformed by) medieval Japanese religion and the performing arts (geinō). In this final book, Lords of Life, Faure explores the concept of surveillance in Daoism and Buddhism, the significance of the gods of destiny, and how they transform the official, or frontal, Buddhist doctrine of karma. This perspective offers a distinctive view of Buddhism, approaching it as if through a "back door."
Throughout this monumental series, Faure expertly weaves together religion's various strands to underscore his argument that Japanese religion cannot be fully understood by relying solely on abstract categories like "Buddhism" and "Shintō," despite convention and convenience.