The paper begins with the analysis of the notion of genre in Japanese cultural researches. These observations are followed by descriptions of three quite different rhetoric genres of contemporary Japan. The first reveals a popular genre of the beginning of the XX century which is now being revived, that is, the activity of katsudo: benshi, performers who provided live narration for silent films. The second is related to the “girls sub-culture” and analyzes the socializing mechanism of the so-called “mutual diaries” ( ko:kan nikki ), that have been popular among the pupils of Japanese middle school in the last quarter of the XX century. The third treats Shintoist prayers Norito , which are being composed nowadays in all Shinto shrines according to the client’s demand. These Norito reflect the individuality of a particular priest, includes local beliefs and dialects, quotations from the Japanese classics.