Did you know … the oldest company in the world has been around since 578 AD?

Japan is well known for its history, traditions, culture, healthy food eating, and longevity.

But, did you know that the oldest continuously run company in the world has been in operation in Japan for over 1,400 years, with 40 generations of the Kongō family keeping it active?

Kongō Gumi is a Japanese construction company that was founded in 578 AD; the company has been a family-run business ever since.

This is a business that has survived the tests of time and it still exists to this day, with the motto: “Inheritance of techniques from 1,400 years ago to the future.”

Kongō Gumi builds and maintains Buddhist temples by hand using craftsmanship and traditional methods with the Kongō family’s involvement.

The company remained independent for 1,400 years until, due to financial circumstances, it became a subsidiary of construction giant Takamatsu Construction Group in 2006.

However, as a subsidiary, Kongō Gumi keeps on doing things the really old-fashioned way.

Its specialty is the restoration of Buddhist temples and other historic buildings in Japan using tools and techniques passed down from its founder since 578 AD.

It all started when Prince Shōtoku Taishi (572–622) commissioned the construction of Japan’s first Buddhist temple, Shitennō-ji.

Back then, Japan was predominantly Shinto (a religion originating in Japan focusing on living in harmony with nature and the spiritual world) and had no carpenters (miyadaiku, in Japanese) trained in the art of building Buddhist temples.

So, the Prince hired three skilled men from Baekje, a Buddhist state in what today is known as Korea.

One of those carpenters was Shigetsu Kongō, whose work would become the foundation of the construction firm Kongō Gumi.

Carpenters trained for as long as 10 years, during which time they were sometimes set against one another, competing to see which craftsperson demonstrated the most skill working with the timber and clay traditionally used to build Buddhist temples.

Similarly to how the traditional Buddhist temples are constructed around a framework of interlocking, precision-cut wooden components that can be individually repaired or replaced facilitating renovation and reconstruction over the centuries, Kongō Gumi has demonstrated a similar flexibility, selecting leaders and projects that fit into its overall plan for preserving the family tradition, replacing, and modifying them as necessary.

According to Works that Work, “Kongō family members and employees continue to build and maintain temples and may very well do so for millennia to come.

And on the 1st and 15th days of every month over 120 Kongō carpenters and other employees still gather for a small prayer ceremony in remembrance of Prince Shōtoku to thank him for how this all began.”