>>49869845
>What was the whole point of the religious conflict between Shinto, Tao, and Buddhism?
Kokoro loses her Mask of Hope, which causes an imbalance that makes her syphon hope out of the humans in the village, which in turn makes them cling to the more prominent religious figures for hope.
They're exploiting their Hopelessness for a bigger followership
Also Koishi's fault for finding the mask and not returning it