Craft as Capital, Handed Down

Kongo Gumi's founding is given as 578: the company tradition holds that Kongo Shigemitsu, one of the craftsmen Prince Shotoku invited from Baekje, came to build Shitenno-ji. His name cannot be confirmed in contemporary records of that construction, so this map writes «company tradition». It is often said to hold a Guinness World Record as the oldest; in fact Guinness recognises Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, the inn traditionally founded in 705, while «the world's oldest company» for Kongo Gumi traces to a 2009 paper from a Cabinet Office institute. Nor can the continuing be written as a happy story alone. In 2005 Takamatsu Construction set up a new wholly owned company, which took over the business the following January. The old company that remained changed its name, and in August 2006 its legal personality was extinguished. What lasted 1,400 years was the craft and the shop name; the capital and the family line ended here. And yet the temple carpenters are still building temples under the same name. What has to continue before we can say something continued? This band is here for that question.