The successful decoding of a linguistic message requires knowledge of a particular grammar, but it is becoming increasingly clear that contextual and cultural cues also play an important role in conversation. In Japanese, conversation proceeds smoothly and acquires some of its meaningfulness from the use of gestural signals, particularly head nodding. Ways that head nodding operates in Japanese are discussed, and its use is interpreted as it relates to the Cooperative Principle of Grice and as an indicator of cultural values. Transcriptions of some Japanese conversations are appended, including a middle-aged woman politely expressing an opinion, a younger woman expressing an opinion less formally, a mother reading a letter aloud to her family, and a formal interview in kimono. Contains 11 references. (Author/LB)