Yanagihara Hiromi

Yanagihara Hiromi (柳原尋美; October 19, 1979 – July 16, 1999) was a Japanese pop singer, she was one of the original members of the Hello! Project group Country Musume which she joined in 1999.

Profile

 * Name: Yanagihara Hiromi (柳原尋美)
 * Nickname: Hiromi (ひろみ)
 * Birthdate: October 19, 1979
 * Birthplace: Chiba, Japan
 * Date of Death: July 16, 1999 (age 19)
 * Place of Death: Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan
 * Blood Type: A
 * Zodiac: Libra
 * Hello! Project Group:
 * Country Musume (1999)

Country Musume

 * Futari no Hokkaido

Movies

 * [1998] Morning Cop ~Daite HOLD ON ME!~ (モーニング刑事. ～抱いてHold on Me!～)

TV shows

 * [1999.07.13] Idol wo Sagase
 * [1999.07.27] Idol wo Sagase (In memory of)

Dramas

 * [1998.04.06] Taiyou Musume to Umi (太陽娘と海; Sun Daughter and the Sea)
 * [1998.07.09] Kaze no Musumetachi (風の娘たち; Daughters of Wind)
 * [1998.10.11] Wine Musume Koi Monogatari (ワイン娘恋物語; Wine Daughter Love Story)

Death
On July 16, 1999, Yanagihara was tragically killed in a car accident one week before the group's first release, Futari no Hokkaido. Yanagihara was reportedly driving alone near her home in Nakasatsunai, Hokkaido at 5:00 pm, when her car, a Mitsubishi Pajero, swerved off the road, and crashed into a ditch. She was thrown from the vehicle which then flipped on top of her, trapping her beneath.

Yanagihara was rushed to a Obihiro hospital by ambulance, where she later died at 7:10 pm. The official cause of death was a combination of tension pneumothorax and acute heart failure due to her injuries.

Trivia

 * She is the first and currently only member of Hello! Project to have died.
 * Following her death, fellow Country Musume member Kobayashi Azusa left the group, claiming her loss was too painful.