During the 1990s, when Japanese culture was epitomized by the word, “kawaii,” Yanagi’s shoujo-motif Elevator Girl series, from a short-sighted view, surely seemed overlap with the cultural temper of the time. However, in actuality, this quasi-cultural symbolization takes on a deeper level of interest, leading the viewer into a more complex and rich source of historical and cultural essence, giving Yanagi wide international acclaim. Furthermore, My Grandmother series from 2000 represent the imagined 50-years-later images of several young women, using photographs as its medium. The narrative, philosophies of life, and temporality that is embodied within the photographic image sublimates the personal imagination into a universal one. This series, which established Yanagi’s international notability, deal with value judgments of beauty and social issues, such as aging population. These social issues are broken down into stories that are all the more personal, intimate and real through the long-term engagement of process with real-life models, exerting strong positive attitudes and dignity in each of their own lives and futures. The models’ views of doom and rebirth are somewhat influences from contemporary anime and mangas. Yanagi articulates that although these collective cultural memories and encounters should be acknowledged as such, each of the models’ outlook on life are distinct in every way, displaying a wide spectrum of narrative in each work. It is this characteristic in Yanagi’s works that stimulates each viewer to contemplate on their own futures with optimistic anticipation.

在1990年代，日本文化用“可爱”（ かわいい，kawaii）一词来概括，近观Yanagi以少女为主题的“电梯女孩”（Elevator Girl）系列，它似乎全然与当时的文化气质交叠。然而，事实上，这一准文化表征有其更深层的趣味，将观者引入一种更为复杂和丰富的历史与文化精髓的渊源中，这亦为Yanagi赢得了广泛的国际声誉。更进一步，自2000年开始的“我的祖母”(My Grandmother)系列中，数位年轻女性所想象的50年后的自己的形象由摄影媒介实现。摄影图像内含的叙事、生活哲学和时间性将个人想象升华为一种普世的想象。这一系列处理的议题为对“美”与长者人群的价值判断，奠定了Yanagi的国际声望。这些社会性议题，通过艺术家与真实生活中的模特们的长期交流，分化为更个人、更亲密和更真实的故事，赋予她们自己的生活与未来强烈的正面态度和尊严。模特们对于毁灭与重生的看法多少受当代动漫的影响，Yanagi指出，虽然这些集体的文化记忆与遭遇应当得到承认，但模特中的每一位对生活的看法从各方面说都是独特的，在每一件作品中展现了叙事的宽广范围。正是Yanagi作品的这一特点，激起每一位观者以乐观的期盼注视自己的未来。