[Moriya Suwako Cosplay] Touhou Project's Kero-chan: Quiet Moments Under the Forest Stone Pagoda

This time I cosplayed Moriya Suwako from Touhou Project, also known as Kero-chan. Preparing this costume took some time, especially the small eyeball decoration on the hat—we adjusted its fixed position several times so it would stand up without looking out of place. The straw hat outfit features a flexible woven design capable of withstanding scratches from outdoor branches. The white subtle pattern on the purple jacket is a classic vine-style pattern. To match the character's "divine" nature, I chose cotton-based materials for the hem lace and tassels so they drape naturally in the wind rather than fluttering too lightly.

The shooting location was a deep forest clearing with a dark gray multi-layered stone pagoda standing right in the center, giving a great ancient pagoda exterior feel. During location scouting, it felt just right—the pagoda's texture, niche details, and the small white stone shrine nearby inherently carried an ancient, tranquil atmosphere. In the first picture, I hold a green lotus leaf prop, which was artificially treated with a support rod to hold its curve, blending surprisingly well with the real green foliage in the forest photography setting. In the latter two pictures, I switched to a wooden ring prop. The wooden ring is quite light, so controlling my force when posing was necessary to avoid shaking. That day, sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting beautiful dappled light and shadow on the ground, but because the light spots shifted constantly, the photographer and I were basically chasing the light, refocusing with every angle change.

The second and third pictures were shot in front of the stone pagoda's base, where a few steps created a vertical sense of layering between the subject and the pagoda. I deliberately adjusted my posture, placing my weight slightly on my back leg for a natural slight turn, allowing the wooden ring held between my hands to stretch out smoothly. When raising the lotus leaf in the first picture, I bent forward slightly because the broad leaf would block my face if I stood too straight, requiring the photographer to capture it from a lower angle. No extra artificial lighting was used, relying entirely on the diffuse reflection of natural light, so post-processing was just simple color temperature and contrast adjustments to preserve the deep forest green and the pagoda's blue-gray, making the purple outfit pop without clashing.

Details on the outfit were also carefully considered—for instance, the wide lantern sleeves paired with a white inner lining restricted arm movements somewhat, but testing beforehand showed that as long as I didn't make overly large extensions, posing wasn't affected. The skirt's lace hem swayed gently as I walked. Although several dynamic shots were taken, I ultimately chose static ones because stillness better emphasizes the pagoda's composure and the character's quiet demeanor. Regarding props, both the lotus leaf and wooden ring can be used interchangeably, but the wooden ring feels better suited for classic poses, while the lotus leaf leans toward a cool summer vibe.

A small episode occurred during shooting: many fallen leaves and loose soil littered the ground beside the pagoda, making it slippery. To stand firmly, I switched to light-colored shoes with non-slip soles—though the shoes aren't visible in photos, solid grounding was crucial. Overall, the shoot was concise and yielded a high success rate due to ideal lighting and the location's inherent narrative depth. Just standing there created a very natural sense of integration without needing superfluous movements.

When finally organizing the photos, I felt these three covered different angles and props: the first includes the full environmental view, the second highlights the proportion between the architecture and person, and the third focuses on character expressions and prop details. Sharing them here serves as a complete record of this outfit.