Completed this Reimu Hakurei Custom design photoshoot on the streets of Kuramae, Tokyo on a rainy day.
This time, I decided to integrate elements of Touhou Project's Reimu Hakurei into real-world street scenes in the form of an everyday Custom design outfit, abandoning the original traditional shrine maiden attire to explore the image of a modern-day shrine maiden in an urban setting. The main outfit consists of a plush white sweater, accented with red ribbons and small bells at the collar and cuffs, paired with a red skirt lined with a rim of white lace trimming inside the hem. On my head was a large red bow headband layered with heavy white lace, with two long red ribbons flowing down over both shoulders. This red-and-white color scheme is strikingly eye-catching, creating a unique visual focal point amidst the gloomy, overcast weather.
Regarding styling details, I chose slouch socks paired with black thick-soled leather shoes for footwear, which preserved the cute feel of Japanese fashion while adapting well to slippery rainy streets, making walking around more comfortable and natural for daily wear. Adding a vintage brown square leather handbag kept the overall texture and color palette—red, white, black, and brown—clean, sharp, and uncluttered.
The original inspiration for this Custom design outfit came from Diao ye zong's album "Yù" (喩), where the exploration of the character's inner core gave me my ideas. I wanted to shape a casual-wear version that fits the identity of the shrine maiden of the Great Hakurei Barrier while existing in modern daily life. The fluffy, soft characteristics of the white sweater perfectly balanced the inherently solemn impression of the original shrine maiden design, adding a sense of modern-day laziness and warmth.
The location was set in Kuramae, Tokyo. Referencing Japanese style street photography compositions I saw earlier, I didn't choose grand shrines or temples, but rather ordinary residential streets, classic wooden storefronts, and blue stone railings along the riverbank. Appearing in these plain, everyday life scenes made it feel as though the character truly lived in this modern city, coming out for a stroll on a rainy afternoon.
It happened to be the rainy season during the shoot, and the wet, reflective road surfaces gave the photos a natural, cool-toned filter effect. I specifically prepared a long Clear umbrella as the main prop, which genuinely shielded against rain while avoiding stealing the visual spotlight from the character's red-and-white color scheme like flashier umbrellas would. Water droplets falling off the umbrella rim and the reflection of buildings and streetlights on the wet ground all became part of the ambient atmosphere.
Due to weather limitations, the shooting process wasn't without hurdles. For instance, my hair and red ribbons easily got soaked by rain, and the white lace grew heavy, yet this inadvertently made the photos' emotional tone more natural and authentic. Walking through the rain in white socks and black leather shoes, or standing in front of old wooden houses casually tidying head ornaments, or looking up at the sky while holding an umbrella—these actions were real fragments of life, far more relaxed than forced poses in a studio.
This photo set didn't deliberately pursue overly advanced photography techniques, but was rather the result of the photographer candidly capturing moments during breaks between rain showers. Whether from a low-angle perspective crouching by a roadside railing or a full-body composition standing at a street corner, a calm and gentle sense of daily life was preserved. The red ribbons on the hair accessories hanging naturally due to light rain and wind, along with the reflections of black leather shoes on wet streets, formed unique marks of this shoot.
Looking back at this shoot in Kuramae, the attempt to blend 2D concepts into 3D everyday reality felt deeply authentic, not only recording the current environment but also giving the character a more lived-in aura. The combination of the white sweater and red skirt, the contrast between the Clear umbrella and wooden door frames, along with the moist scent unique to rainy days, all formed my visual memory of this modern-day shrine maiden Custom design. Sharing this set is also a personal summary of this street photography experience, genuinely documenting a rainy afternoon belonging to Touhou Project's modern shrine maiden.