The Provenance Museum ®

Kongō Gumi is widely regarded as the world’s oldest continuously operating company. Founded in AD 578 in Osaka, Japan, it was established when Prince Shōtoku invited master temple builders from the Korean kingdom of Baekje to help construct Shitennō-ji, one of Japan’s oldest Buddhist temples.

For more than 1,400 years, Kongō Gumi specialized in the construction, restoration, and preservation of temples, shrines, and other important cultural structures. Its craftsmen contributed to some of Japan’s most significant religious and historic buildings, helping preserve traditional architectural techniques across generations.

The company remained under family management for roughly 40 generations until it became a subsidiary of the Takamatsu Construction Group in 2006. Despite the change in ownership, Kongō Gumi continues to operate under its historic name and remains dedicated to traditional temple construction and restoration.

For The Provenance Museum, Kongō Gumi represents something extraordinary: an institution that has survived nearly a millennium and a half of wars, natural disasters, political upheavals, and technological change while continuing to practice the same fundamental craft for which it was founded.