The term "kami" is "conceptually fluid", and "vague and imprecise". In Japanese it is often applied to the power of phenomena that inspire a sense of wonder and awe in the beholder. Kitagawa referred to this as "the "kami" nature", stating that he thought it "somewhat analogous" to the Western ideas of the numinous and the sacred. Kami are seen to inhabit both the living and the dead, organic and inorganic matter, and natural disasters like earthquakes, droughts, and plagues; their presence is seen in natural forces such as the wind, rain, fire, and sunshine. Accordingly, Nelson commented that Shinto regards "the "actual phenomena" of the world itself" as being "divine". The Shinto understanding of kami has also been characterised as being both pantheistic, and animistic.