Kosanji Yanagiya was a celebrated Japanese rakugo comic storyteller who also provided a voice performance for a Studio Ghibli animated film. He was born on December 17, 1939, in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. His real name was Takezo Koriyama.

Yanagiya's career was first and foremost in the traditional Japanese performing art of rakugo. He began his path to becoming a master storyteller while still in high school, after winning an amateur rakugo competition on a radio program for fifteen consecutive weeks. In 1959, he became a disciple of the Fifth Yanagiya Kosan, taking the rakugo name Kotake. He was promoted to the status of a full-fledged master, or shinuchi, in 1969, at which point he assumed the name of the Tenth Yanagiya Kosanji. From 2010 to 2014, he served as the chairman of the Rakugo Kyokai, an association of rakugo performers.

In the realm of anime, Yanagiji is known for a single, distinctive voice role. He performed as the Haiku Reader, who also serves as a narrator, in the 1999 Studio Ghibli film My Neighbors the Yamadas. This role involved reciting haiku poems that commented on the events and themes of the film's vignettes about a Japanese family. His work on this film stands as his only widely recognized credit in anime voice acting.

Yanagiya's primary career in rakugo brought him significant recognition and accolades. He was known as a skilled, traditional performer of classic comedic stories. In 2014, he was designated a Living National Treasure by the Japanese government for his mastery of rakugo, becoming only the third rakugo storyteller to ever receive this honor. He continued to perform on stage until just days before his death. Kosanji Yanagiya passed away at his home in Tokyo on October 7, 2021, at the age of 81.