Having taken this rapid view of Japanese civilization, we are in a position to judge as to whether or not this is a civilized land; and we answer that it is. But although modeled after that of the West, it in many respects differs from Western civilization. Japan has shown herself capable of doing great things, but she does not do them in the same way that they are done in Europe or America. For example, consider her manufactories, which now threaten to compete with those of our own country. In America manufactories mean enormous capital invested. Costly factories must be erected, the most approved machinery provided, and the completed plant operated at great expense. Here almost no capital is used. The buildings are low, one-story sheds, not more costly than a row of stables at home. It is true that Japan has a few large, substantial buildings for manufacturing purposes; but such are rare, and, when found, look out of harmony with their surroundings. Even nature seems to protest against huge piles of brick and stone, as she so frequently demolishes them. Most of the wares of Japan are manufactured in small, cheap buildings, and little machinery is used. The best silk {105} made is woven in a house that cost scarcely $500. The best cloisonne, of which only a small piece a few inches high will cost hundreds of dollars, is made in a little, two-story house with only six rooms. Some of the greatest porcelain-makers in the world, whose products are better known in London and Paris than in their own country, do their work in small wooden houses in Kyoto, no better than the homes of the American laborer. "The vast rice crop is raised on millions of tiny farms; the silk crop in millions of small, poor homes; the tea crop on countless little patches of soil. Japan has become industrial without becoming essentially mechanical and artificial."[3] On this small scale the great work of Japan is done. Japanese civilization, in its parts, is miniature. [3] Lafcadio Hearn. When compared with the civilization of the West, it is unstable; in fact stability is almost unknown. The land itself is a land of change. The outlines of the coasts, the courses of the rivers, the form of the mountains, by the combined action of volcanoes, earthquakes, winds, and waves, are constantly changing. The people themselves are continually drifting about from place to place, changing their residence with the seasons. It has been said that no people in the world are so migratory. {106} Preparation can be made in a few hours for the longest journey, and all the necessary baggage wrapped up in a handkerchief. Japanese life is in a constant state of fluidity. The average house, likewise, seems built but for a day. The walls, the roof, the floors, are made of the lightest materials, and apparently there is no thought of permanence.