The path purifier, mask worn by the first actor in a procession of ancient theatrical performances gigaku 伎楽. Presumably he secured or purified the way tsuyubarai 露払, for all those behind. The Records of Saidaiji, Saidaiji shizaichō 西大寺資財帳 (780), mention him carrying a banner, and early references also suggest he was closely followed by two unmasked men who held a canopy over him. Though quite some variety appears in coloring and in the age of the man represented, all examples of the mask have uncommonly long, bill-like noses. In some Chidō masks, such as a 7th-century work at Hōryūji 法隆寺, holes remain at the forehead indicating that a metal crown was probably attached. A typical early mask (red painted wood with appended strands of hair at eyebrows and crown) in the *Shōsōin 正倉院 shows a fleshy, bearded, smiling middle-aged face dominated by the long nose. It has been suggested that representations of Chidō are the predecessors of long-nosed goblin *tengu 天狗 masks used after the Kamakura period in many festivals.
