In an age when corporate lifespans are often measured in quarters rather than centuries, Japan stands apart. Scattered across the archipelago are businesses that trace their origins back more than a thousand years, surviving wars, natural disasters, political upheaval and radical shifts in demand. Among them is Kongo Gumi, widely regarded as the world’s oldest continuously operating company, whose roots stretch back to the year 578. As reported by the Japan Times, these ancient enterprises are now confronting a paradox: their greatest strength, continuity, may also be their greatest vulnerability in a rapidly changing society.
Legend has it that Kongo Gumi began when Prince Shotoku, the semilegendary regent who championed Buddhism in early Japan, summoned three master craftsmen from the Korean kingdom of Baekje to help build Shitennoji in what is now Osaka. One of them, Kongo Shigemitsu, established a lineage of temple carpenters that would span roughly 40 generations. While written records from that era are scarce, the enduring presence of Shitennoji itself has long been cited as living proof of the company’s antiquity.
Today, Shitennoji remains a vast temple complex in southern Osaka, and for centuries the Kongo family served as its resident miyadaiku, or master carpenters, receiving a fixed stipend in exchange for maintaining the site. Fires repeatedly destroyed the temple, and each time it was rebuilt using techniques handed down through generations, relying on intricate wooden joinery rather than nails. Those skills became synonymous with Kongo Gumi’s identity, binding the firm’s fate to Japan’s religious and cultural foundations.
The arrival of the modern era, however, brought existential shocks. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 dismantled the old order that had sustained temple-based enterprises. The state-enforced separation of Shinto and Buddhism, followed by the anti-Buddhist haibutsu kishaku movement, plunged temples into financial distress. Shitennoji’s stipend disappeared, forcing Kongo Gumi to seek work beyond the institution that had anchored it for over a millennium.
Crises continued into the 20th century. During the economic turmoil of the early Showa era, the firm’s 37th head, an uncompromising craftsman, refused to pursue sales or accept work he deemed unworthy. The company teetered on collapse, and in 1932 he took his own life, apologizing to his ancestors at the family gravesite. Leadership then passed to his widow, Yoshie, who defied convention by becoming tōryō, or chief carpenter. Her determination saved the firm, particularly after she oversaw the reconstruction of Shitennoji’s pagoda following the devastating Muroto typhoon in 1934.
Kongo Gumi endured the Second World War by making wooden crates for military use and later expanded into reinforced concrete and Western-style construction during the postwar boom. That diversification, however, also led to costly missteps. By the early 2000s, mounting losses once again threatened the company’s survival. In 2006, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Osaka-based Takamatsu Corp., preserving its name, workforce of skilled miyadaiku and centuries-old craft tradition while conceding financial independence.
Kongo Gumi is not alone. According to data cited by the Japan Times from Teikoku Databank, Japan has more than 45,000 companies with histories exceeding 100 years, accounting for over half of such firms worldwide. Eleven of them date back more than a millennium. Many are rooted in regional economies and cultural practices: temple and shrine builders, hot spring inns fed by volcanic springs, and enterprises tied to religious rituals.
One of the most striking examples is Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, founded in 705 and recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest continuously operating hotel. Nestled in a remote valley in Yamanashi Prefecture, the inn has weathered floods, landslides and changing eras of Japanese history. For much of its existence it was run by the same family, now extending to its 53rd generation of leadership. Emperors, poets and warlords are said to have bathed in its mineral-rich waters, and even today guests sleep on futons and dine according to long-standing customs, regardless of whether they arrive from Tokyo or overseas.
Another pillar of longevity lies not in commerce but culture. The Ikenobo school of ikebana, Japan’s oldest tradition of flower arrangement, traces its origins back some 1,400 years to priests associated with Rokkakudo Temple in Kyoto. Though now organized as a foundation rather than a company, Ikenobo exemplifies how flexibility has underpinned endurance. By allowing instructors and branches a high degree of autonomy and adapting to shifts such as the incorporation of flower arrangement into women’s education during the Meiji era, the school transformed social upheaval into an opportunity for renewal.
Despite their resilience, these institutions are not immune to modern pressures. Bankruptcies among companies older than a century reached a decade high in 2024, driven by rising costs, weak consumer demand, succession problems and demographic decline. Japan’s shrinking population and low birthrate pose particular challenges for family-run firms that have historically relied on heirs, sometimes resorting to adoption when no suitable successor was available.
Experts note that many long-lived businesses survived precisely because they did not follow the logic of capital markets. Their priorities centered on continuity, reputation and craftsmanship rather than rapid growth or short-term profit. That same ethos can make them difficult to restructure or sell when difficulties arise. In such cases, local financial institutions or acquisitions by firms in the same trade have often proved the least disruptive solutions.
At the same time, global interest in “authentically Japanese” experiences has opened new paths. UNESCO’s recognition of traditional Japanese wooden construction as intangible cultural heritage in 2020 boosted awareness of temple carpentry, while ancient inns and cultural schools are seeing more international visitors. For companies like Kongo Gumi, diversification into cultural heritage projects and restoration work offers a way to align ancient skills with contemporary demand.
The story of Japan’s oldest businesses, as chronicled by the Japan Times, is not one of static tradition but of continual adaptation. Their survival has depended on an ability to bend without breaking, to preserve core values while responding to forces their founders could never have imagined. Whether that balance can be maintained in the face of accelerating economic change and demographic uncertainty remains an open question, but their history suggests that longevity itself can be a form of innovation.
