early 1800s
Air Purification is a tradition of Kurodoro.
Air Purification is a public ritual conducted by the village's shrine maiden (Myouka) roughly every week. The fundamental idea behind this ritual is the belief that demonic forces accumulate everywhere on their own, and have to be ventilated by strong gusts of wind. The Air Purification is a method of asking the deity for such wind to ensure that the village and its surroundings become and stay clean. The ritual is conducted when the air stays still for too long. The shrine maiden takes the spear-staff, adorns it with colorful frills, ribbons and stripes to attract the attention of the deity. The metal spearhead of the spear-staff is dipped and stirred in the water collected from the nearby lake, after which it is removed from the shaft and placed on a pedestal in front of the shrine, among with other items from the villagers that they want to be purified as soon as possible. The maiden stands on another pedestal a dozen meters away, faces away from the sun towards the spearhead and starts to spin the staff in front of herself counter-clockwise. This performance is said to attract the deity and let it know that the people are pleading for the purification, after which said purification is granted in the form of strong winds.
Air Purification continues until at least one item on the pedestal falls over from air pressure, or until the shrine maiden exhausts herself. If no wind occurs, the shrine maiden has to travel to the lake and ask guidance from the deity's messengers: the seagulls. The presence of seagulls is taken as a message that the reason for the lack of wind is that the deity considers the village already clean for now. The absence of seagulls is taken as a message that the deity considers the village to be overtaken by demonic forces beyond what the ritual can possibly help with, and has recalled its messengers lest they are lost. In this case, the shrine maiden has to track down the source of the demonic forces within the village and eradicate it. Usually this ends with the death of at least one suspected demon in disguise. The wind that blows after the deed is done signals that the evil has been neutralized. If the wind blows after the shrine maiden takes on the role of a demon hunter but before said demon is destroyed, it is seen as the deity encouraging the shrine maiden in her quest.
Air Purification has a counterpart in the form of the Water Purification.