Kongō Gumi Co., Ltd. (株式会社金剛組 Kabushiki Gaisha Kongō Gumi) was a Japanese construction company and was the world's oldest continuously ongoing independent company, operating for over 1,400 years until it was absorbed as a subsidiary of another larger construction company.
Headquartered in Osaka, the once family-owned construction company traced its origins to 578 when one of the Korean engineers whom Prince Shōtoku brought from South Korea to Japan to build the Buddhist temple Shitennō-ji
decided to start his own business. Over the centuries, Kongō Gumi
participated in the construction of many famous buildings, including the
16th century Osaka Castle.
A 10-foot 17th-century scroll traces the 40 generations back to the
company's start. As with many distinguished Japanese families,
sons-in-law often joined the clan and took the Kongō family name. Thus,
through the years, the line has continued through either a son or a
daughter.
The company fell on hard times and went into liquidation in January 2006[1]. Its assets were purchased by Takamatsu Corporation.[2][3] Before its liquidation, it had over 100 employees and annual revenue of ¥7.5 billion ($70 million) in 2005; it still specialized in building Buddhist temples. The last president was Masakazu Kongō,
the 40th Kongō to lead the firm. As of December 2006, Kongō Gumi
continues to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Takamatsu.
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