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 (kabuto mushi), 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".