12 kingdoms: the Emperor and his kirin

Ruler of Han, Go Ranjou@
Taiho of Han (Hanrin), Risetsu@

photo@ and edit by
help@ ~sakana, ~miwitch, zelmer


Thanks to ~Astellecia for the invitation, or else I probably never kick myself to do another ancient costume *lol*
the last one I did was for Saiunkoku Monogatari 5-6(?) years ago. I read the novels of 12 kingdoms some years back too, and had to recap various parts of it to get some emotions for this shoot.

This couple is pretty much narcissistic and eccentric, and particular about the aesthetics of everything. Which amused me. They don't appear much, and not my top favorite characters, but they are fun nevertheless.

Han-ou, Go Ranjou being known as a beautiful and refined man who looks like a woman, I feel stressed! XD
To look as gorgeous on the outside like a woman, yet still carry ownself's posture and aura(?? *lol*) as a man. I tried my best to strike a balance. And to keep up with the arts and craftsmanship Han is known for, I decided to indulge in all the materials (oh how my wallet cried! And ancient costume EATS fabrics!). Since i rarely make ancient costumes, I refer to the novel illustrations of Han-ou as well as all the other characters' costumes to draft up my own complete version. It's also a bit tricky as Han-ou's wardrobe is closer to a female than a male. Eventually I also chose a gradient wig instead of a pure color~

It was hot that day when we shot! Close to noon too >.<
The fun would be at the beach where we had difficulty standing as the tide came in. Many thanks to the helpers for carrying our stuff along, and flipping the fabric non-stop XD