Since 578 CE

April 18, 2007 9:45 AM

14-century old Japanese business folds. How often does one get to type that?
posted by Pope Guilty (32 comments total)

I clicked expecting office-related origami. I am disappointed.
posted by cowbellemoo at 9:47 AM on April 18, 2007

I clicked expecting to read about the representative in a corporate poker game opting out of the hand.
posted by HuronBob at 9:50 AM on April 18, 2007

I thought it was going to be ori....NM. [NOT RACIST]
posted by DU at 9:59 AM on April 18, 2007

Actually they were bought out. I found out about this company a while back while browsing wikipedia. There's a great list of all the oldest companies, including those that continue to operate. I can't find it right now, though.
posted by delmoi at 10:00 AM on April 18, 2007

I honestly had no idea that there were businesses that were 1400 years old. Pity that it got screwed up by the housing market bubble.

Are there a lot of other companies that have been around for such a long time?
posted by quin at 10:01 AM on April 18, 2007

This list?

Looks like the current leader is a hotel from the 700's.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:03 AM on April 18, 2007

I'd hate to be the head honcho of that company- imagine after 1400 years of smooth sailing, being the one who screwed up.

Granted, the situation isn't as simple as that, but still.
posted by Dr-Baa at 10:09 AM on April 18, 2007

Nice start and interesting subject. This could have gone a number of ways, though, and would have made a better post. For instance, the Kongo Gumi corporate website [original Japanese version here] and the oldest temple built by the family 14 centuries ago. Kind of gives relevance to "built to last". Thanks for the post.
posted by sluglicker at 10:11 AM on April 18, 2007

.
posted by nickyskye at 10:12 AM on April 18, 2007

I thought about it, but decided against padding out the post- I like 'em short and simple for the most part.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:18 AM on April 18, 2007

I bet it was because their website just sucked ass.
posted by Dave Faris at 10:24 AM on April 18, 2007

I like 'em short and simple for the most part

I'm with you on that. No offense intended, just a suggestion.
posted by sluglicker at 10:29 AM on April 18, 2007

Sorry, Dave Faris. Not biting today.
posted by sluglicker at 10:30 AM on April 18, 2007

It's long term stability like this that gives the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence a bad name! About time they succumbed to karmic law.
posted by Abiezer at 10:45 AM on April 18, 2007

I posted on this company last year. I blame MeFi for its downfall - it must have brought the business down due to extra web traffic fees.
posted by blahblahblah at 10:46 AM on April 18, 2007

Dr-Baa,
Yeah. You'd think after surviving so many times of hardship and catastrophe, there would be a strong spirit of caution built into the company philosophy....
I can imagine meeting his family in the afterlife:

Ancestors: "Masakazu, you tell us the family company was bought out?! What happened?"

Ancestor: "Despite the almost total transformation of Japanese society and government in the Meiji era, I found a way to keep the company going without government support. Was there another great revolution?"

Ancestor: "World War II and its aftermath was a very difficult time, but I found a way to save the company even as Japan was virtually reduced to rubble. Did another war finally destroy Japan?"

"Um...no....I...uh...I got a little carried away in the 80s, bought too much land, and sank the company..."
posted by Sangermaine at 10:49 AM on April 18, 2007 [2 favorites]

I worked for a really old Japanese securities company for 2 years. The only company cafeteria at which I've eaten where they served fresh sushi on a daily basis. The executive dining area required you to sit on mats and remove your shoes.

Can't imagine what working for this outfit must have been like. The pressure of keeping it afloat each year must have been enormous.
posted by thanotopsis at 11:18 AM on April 18, 2007

I'd hate to be the head honcho of that company- imagine after 1400 years of smooth sailing, being the one who screwed up.

I'm suprised they couldn't get a bailout. Our government hands them out like candy.
posted by delmoi at 11:44 AM on April 18, 2007

This list?

Looks like the current leader is a hotel from the 700's.

Interesting that almost all the old companies are in Austria, Germany and Japan.
posted by jack_mo at 11:50 AM on April 18, 2007

That's a fascinating Wikipedia list. I like how a good chunk of the oldest companies are German breweries.
posted by Zinger at 12:17 PM on April 18, 2007

I wonder if they still had their very first kuan-yung taped to the wall.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 12:23 PM on April 18, 2007 [4 favorites]

As for the current oldest business - Houshi Ryokan's website seems pretty ancient as well.
posted by bashos_frog at 1:17 PM on April 18, 2007

I can't wait until all church/temple/mosque-construction companies go out of business.
posted by spock at 1:23 PM on April 18, 2007

Ancestor: "Masakazu, can I see you in my office...”
posted by Smedleyman at 1:53 PM on April 18, 2007

There must have been some very smart leaders in the difficult eras. And they changed when they had to, which is what saved them so long, probably.
posted by amberglow at 3:45 PM on April 18, 2007

As someone who works daily in a family business, I'm amazed that in 1400 years they didn't go apeshit on each other, threaten to quit and then cry to their mothers. Happens here every week.
posted by ColdChef at 6:09 PM on April 18, 2007

Pope Guilty's Wikipedia link is for oldest companies, period, not oldest family companies. It is one thing to keep the outfit afloat for 14 centuries. As ColdChef notes, it is quite another to avoid mahem that whole time; although, who knows -- a little fratricide here and there might be the secret to success.

I am familiar with one family business only 200 years old that is run just like a public company. With primogeniture outmoded, ownership of family firms tends to disperse after a few generations to distant cousins who don't even know each other, each with a small fraction of the stock. To survive without shareholder lawsuits, the company must deliver market returns.
posted by beagle at 6:36 PM on April 18, 2007

a little fratricide here and there might be the secret to success.

Is there a Japanese equivalent to "Fredo?"
posted by ColdChef at 6:45 PM on April 18, 2007

spock writes "I can't wait until all church/temple/mosque-construction companies go out of business."

That's because you're a Vulcan.
posted by krinklyfig at 8:52 PM on April 18, 2007

Kind of gives relevance to "built to last".

Actually, many Japanese temples traditionally were rebuilt at regular intervals...
posted by Smilla's Sense of Snark at 9:02 PM on April 18, 2007

I do think that continuing the same business for 1428 years is a great achievement. However, I would be surprised if the business had continued for all this time without interruptions including temporary closures. I am sure an enterprising descendant would want to resume operations sometime in the future, albeit possibly in a different form.

I can picture, in 2276, the family making jokes about ol´ uncle Masakazu who lost all the family's money back in 2006.

Also, it would be interesting to know, but the article doesn't mention, in what form the company's records remain.
posted by Gomez_in_the_South at 9:39 PM on April 18, 2007

.

Working in a family business myself, Kongo Gumi was an inspiration for me. I didn't know they were having problems, and am sad to see them go out of business.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:19 PM on April 19, 2007