WrittenbyoneoftheleadingscholarsofJapanesereligion,ProtectorsandPredatorsisthesecondinstallmentofamultivolumeprojectthatpromisestobeamilestoneinourunderstandingofthemythico-ritualsystemofesotericBuddhism--specificallythenatureandrolesofdeitiesinthereligiousworldofmedievalJapanandbeyond.BernardFaureintroducesreaderstomedievalJapanesereligiosityandshowsthecentralityofthegodsinreligiousdiscourseandritual.Throughoutheengagestheoreticalinsightsdrawnfromstructuralism,post-structuralism,andActor-NetworkTheorytoretrievethe"implicitpantheon"(asopposedtothe"explicitorthodoxpantheon")ofesotericJapaneseBuddhism(Mikkyō).Hisworkisparticularlysignificantgivenitsfocusonthedeities'multipleandshiftingrepresentations,overlappings,andmodesofactionsratherthanonindividualcharactersandfunctions.
InProtectorsandPredatorsFaurearguesthatthe"wild"godsofJapanwereatthecenterofthemedievalreligiouslandscapeandcametogetherincomplexwebsofassociationnotdivisibleintothecategoriesof"Buddhist,""indigenous,"or"Shinto."Furthermore,amongthemostimportantmedievalgods,certainoneshadrootsinHinduism,othersinDaoismandYin-Yangthought.Hedisplaysvastknowledgeofhissubjectandpresentshisresearch--muchofitinlargelyunstudiedmaterial--withtheoreticalsophistication.Hisargumentsandanalysesassumethecentralityoftheiconographicrecordasacomplementtothetextualrecord,andsohehasbroughttogetherarichandrarecollectionofmorethan170colorandblack-and-whiteimages.Thisemphasisoniconographyandthewaysinwhichitcomplements,supplements,ordeconstructstextualorthodoxyiscriticaltoafullercomprehensionofasetofmedievalJapanesebeliefsandpracticesandoffersacorrectivetothetraditionaldivisionofthefieldintoreligiousstudies,whichtypicallyignorestheimages,andarthistory,whichoftentimesoverlookstheirritualandreligiousmeaning.
ProtectorsandPredatorsanditscompanionvolumesshouldpersuadereadersthatthegodsconstitutedacentralpartofmedievalJapanesereligionandthatthelattercannotbereducedtoasimplisticconfrontation,parallelism,orcomplementaritybetweensomemonolithicteachingsknownas"Buddhism"and"Shinto."Oncethesereductionistlabelsandcategoriesarediscarded,anewandfascinatingreligiouslandscapebeginstounfold.