World’s Oldest Firm: Amid hundreds of thousands of corporations throughout the globe, one enterprise stands out for surviving the take a look at of time like no different. Kongō Gumi, a Japanese building firm based in 578 CE, holds the title of the world’s oldest firm nonetheless working at the moment. Specialising in constructing and repairing Buddhist temples for over 1,400 years, it has witnessed generations rise and fall, however its legacy continues even at the moment.
The story begins with Shigemitsu Kongō, a Korean immigrant who arrived in Japan greater than 1,400 years in the past. He was commissioned to construct Japan’s first Buddhist temple, Shitenno-ji, in Osaka. His experience in temple building quickly expanded to palaces and different architectural tasks, and his descendants carried on the enterprise for hundreds of years.
Though the Kongō household now not runs the corporate immediately, their affect endures. In 2006, Kongō Gumi confronted chapter and was acquired by the Takamatsu Development Group.
Immediately, it features as a subsidiary throughout the group, often called the Kongō Gumi Division, and continues its conventional craftsmanship in temple building. The legacy is carried ahead by the forty first head, Masakazu Kongō’s daughter, holding the household title carefully tied to the enterprise.
Earlier than its acquisition, the corporate employed round 100 staff and reported an annual income of seven.5 billion yen (roughly Rs 4.33 billion) in 2005. Regardless of its lengthy historical past, the corporate had money owed amounting to 4 billion yen (Rs 2.31 billion) on the time.
Its final president from the Kongō household, Masakazu Kongō, represented the fortieth era of leaders.
From its humble beginnings within the sixth century to surviving trendy financial challenges, Kongō Gumi just isn’t solely an organization, it’s a image of expertise, resilience and the extraordinary capacity of a household enterprise to endure by way of centuries of change.