Blue-Chip Buddha

Jesse Walker | April 19, 2007

Kongo Gumi, the world's oldest continuously operating family enterprise, has closed its doors after an astonishing 1,428 years in business. Libertarian caveat: Until the 19th century it was subsidized by the Japanese government.

Business Week notes the secrets of the firm's success:

How do you make a family business last for 14 centuries? Kongo Gumi's case suggests that it's a good idea to operate in a stable industry. Few industries could be less flighty than Buddhist temple construction.

Flexibility helps, too. During World War II the company "switched temporarily to crafting coffins." I suppose you might call that an indirect government subsidy.

Comments

Mike Laursen|4.19.07 @ 11:04AM|#

The Buddhist temple business has gone bust. I'm going to assume it's Richard Gere's fault.

ed|4.19.07 @ 11:18AM|#

I blame Tom Cruise.

|4.19.07 @ 11:19AM|#

It would be interesting to see a "family tree" of businesses. I'd bet some companies today could trace their "roots" back at least a few hundred years, since often they are formed by mergers or the reminants of failed businesses that have had to liquidate their assests.

|4.19.07 @ 11:32AM|#

I remember a news item from several years ago about Zildjan (the company that makes cymbals) being the oldest company in North America.

Tym|4.19.07 @ 12:10PM|#

Isn't Zildjan Turkish?

I believe Revere cookware is Paul Revere's original silversmith company.

|4.19.07 @ 12:11PM|#

With a history like that, I'm surprised Warren Buffett didn't buy them.

Kevin

|4.19.07 @ 12:17PM|#

"...during the 1980s bubble economy in Japan, the company borrowed heavily to invest in real estate. After the bubble burst in the 1992-93 recession, the assets secured by Kongo Gumi's debt shrank in value."

This leads me to wonder if the head of the firm at that time was the first in history to have an MBA.

|4.19.07 @ 12:19PM|#

I thought Heidi Fleiss ran the world's first business.

|4.19.07 @ 1:26PM|#

I saw this on Boing Boing (I think) yesterday. It's not just a business that has lasted for a millennium and a half, it's survived in the same family. Whoa. How cool is that?

|4.19.07 @ 1:33PM|#

I remember a news item from several years ago about Zildjan (the company that makes cymbals) being the oldest company in North America.

From wikipedia:


Of course, HBC, was a joint stock company and later publicly traded. And it's only been around for 437 years.

So yes 1400 plus and in the same family.

|4.19.07 @ 1:38PM|#

d'ohh!!!!

So yes 1400 plus and in the same family is pretty impressive.

|4.19.07 @ 1:45PM|#

In Shintoism, allowing the family business to fail after nearly 1,500 years means, what? No sushi for you, ten billion billion years?

I mean, really, what a load to bear. Can mass seppuku be far behind?

VM|4.19.07 @ 2:16PM|#

"During World War II the company "switched temporarily to crafting coffins." I suppose you might call that an indirect government subsidy."

I'd call it the inevitable end to the slippery slope of the broken windows fallacy...

ProL: "Can mass seppuku be far behind?" - can they use ginzo knives?

|4.19.07 @ 2:17PM|#

Um, isn't that what ginzu knives are for? Other than slicing tomatoes for the pre-seppuku salad, of course.

|4.19.07 @ 2:26PM|#

Global Warming and High Fructose Corn Sweeteners conspired to bring this enterprise down.

|4.19.07 @ 3:42PM|#

Holy wow.

|4.19.07 @ 4:32PM|#

Can mass seppuku be far behind?

better than mass bukkake

|4.19.07 @ 4:52PM|#

Ugh.

VM|4.19.07 @ 5:42PM|#

what Kiwx said.

|4.19.07 @ 9:00PM|#

Given that choice, I would prefer to participate in mass bukkake, unless I was tapped for the clean up crew. In which case I would prefer mass seppuku.

Jesse Walker|4.20.07 @ 11:00AM|#

How about mass [ingestion of] sapporo?

|4.20.07 @ 2:25PM|#

How about the rarely performed Catholic Bukkake Mass?

|4.20.07 @ 7:28PM|#

I prefer Norwegian Krumkakke.

|4.21.07 @ 12:30AM|#

Ugh.