"Aspects of Shinto in Japanese Communication" by Kazuya Hara, Meikai University, JapanAbstract: A person’s religious view is one of the elements that strongly influences his or her guiding principle in daily communication. In this essay, the author focuses on Shinto and attempts to conceptualize its influence on aspects of Japanese daily life and communication. First, the author reviews Shinto’s definitions, types of modern Shinto, the concept of kami (gods), the-otherworld views, reverence of nature, worship of ancestors, musubi (the mystical power of becoming or creation), and purity. Then, the author proposes two communication models based on a Shinto perspective: (1) kan’no (responding to nature as a deity) as intrapersonal communication; and (2) the sense of oneness with kami achieved by carrying mikoshi (a portable Shinto shrine) in matsuri festival.