Pupating Woman

Jun Togawa had always wanted to add lyrics to and sing "Canon and Gigue for 3 Violins and Basso Continuo" (Kanon und Gigue für 3 Violinen mit Generalbaß) by Johann Pachelbel. "Pupa Woman" (蛹化の女) was originally recorded in a mid-tempo orchestral arrangement with sung vocals for her first solo album, 1984's Princess Tamahime (玉姫様). She wrote the lyrics in 1-2 minutes; they originally featured horned beetles (甲虫), but as the amount of kana did not fit the composition, she swapped them for cicadas.

Another arrangement of the song was also made, a fast-tempo rocker with screamed vocals. A studio recording has never been made, but Togawa kept it a setlist staple across multiple projects. The first release was on her and Yapoos' first live album, The Other Side of Tamahime (裏玉姫), recorded less than a month after Princess Tamahime's release. They played it with Susumu Hirasawa on guitar in at least one of their I3 Days '94 Tokyo & Osaka shows (30 November at Namba W'OHOL and 14 December at Shinjuku LiquidRoom).

Lyrics

 * "変り果てた私の姿 — lit. “My form, that has ceased to change”"
 * "蛹化, although pronounced “mushi” (insect) in the title, can also be pronounced “youka,” and it means “pupation”."

Connections

 * This is Hirasawa's second time as sideman for a punk interpretation of Pachelbel's Canon, after Michiro Endo's "Kanon".