was a Japanese singer and actress. She was a founding member of Hello! Project J-pop group Country Musume. She joined Country Musume in 1999 along with Rinne Toda and Azusa Kobayashi. On July 16, 1999, Yanagihara was killed in a car accident, one week before the group's first release, Futari no Hokkaidou on July 23, 1999.