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.

Quote :

"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. The circumstances of Kongo Gumi's demise also offer some lessons. Despite its incredible history, it was a set of ordinary circumstances that brought Kongo Gumi down at last. Two factors were primarily responsible. First, 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. Second, social changes in Japan brought about declining contributions to temples. As a result, demand for Kongo Gumi's temple-building services dropped sharply beginning in 1998. By 2004, revenues were down 35%. Masakazu Kongo laid off employees and tightened budgets. But in 2006, the end arrived. The company's borrowings had ballooned to $343 million and it was no longer possible to service the debt. In January, the company's assets were acquired by Takamatsu, a large Japanese construction company, and it was absorbed into a subsidiary. To sum up the lessons of Kongo Gumi's long tenure and ultimate failure: Pick a stable industry and create flexible succession policies. To avoid a similar demise, evolve as business conditions require, but don't get carried away with temporary enthusiasms and sacrifice financial stability for what looks like an opportunity. These lessons are somewhat contradictory and paradoxical, to be sure. But if sustained success came easy, then all family businesses would have a 1,428-year run. "

http://www.businessweek.com/print/smallbiz/content/apr2007/sb20070416_589621.htm

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

A list of the world's remaining oldest companies:
http://www.familybusinessmagazine.com/oldworld.html

4/19/2007 5:26:23 PM

interesting

4/19/2007 5:29:03 PM

I ate at a restaurant in Kyoto that started in 1160 and has been doing business since then non-stop.

True story.

4/19/2007 6:37:21 PM

i thought zildjian was the world's oldest company. but looking with thier website they've only been in business since 1618. guess i was grossly mistaken.

4/19/2007 11:45:56 PM

hah! maybe in Europe or some gay shit like that

4/20/2007 12:52:28 AM

Until I read that list I'd never heard of the State of Franklin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Franklin

Goddamn traitors.

4/20/2007 12:57:39 AM

Well, the Avedis Zildjian Company, which is the world's largest manufacturer of cymbals, is still operating after 389 years--and that ain't too shabby!



[Edited on April 20, 2007 at 1:33 AM. Reason : .]

4/20/2007 1:27:35 AM

Quote :

"Second, social changes in Japan brought about declining contributions to temples."

This is the part that saddens me the most. The Japanese have such a rich religious history in Shinto/Buddhism that predates Christianity by far. From what I have heard the Japanese culture is becoming more secular as a result of more and more pressure being put on advancing ones career instead of cherishing their longstanding reverance of Nature and kami.

4/20/2007 3:14:36 AM

I blame anime.

4/20/2007 8:37:46 AM

^^ waaah

the world doesn't need more religion. remember what happened last time japan was ultra-religious?

[Edited on April 20, 2007 at 8:38 AM. Reason : e]

4/20/2007 8:37:54 AM

Quote :

"Until I read that list I'd never heard of the State of Franklin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Franklin Goddamn traitors."

There are several several secessionist movements in the U.S, most ongoing today. I'd never heard of Franklin either, so that's another one.

My favorite and most obscure one. The Republic of West Florida. Lasted for three months until an American military force forcibly took it over. Consisted of the gulf coasts of present-day Alabama and Mississippi and parts of present-day Louisiana. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Florida#A_short-lived_Republic

Another favorite: The Conch Republic, when the city of Key West in 1982 seceded from the U.S. for two minutes to make a political point to stop the U.S. Border Patrol doing drug searches on everyone coming and leaving the Florida Keys. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conch_republic

[Edited on April 20, 2007 at 9:20 AM. Reason : .]

4/20/2007 8:53:00 AM

Quote :

"From what I have heard the Japanese culture is becoming more secular as a result of more and more pressure being put on advancing ones career instead of cherishing their longstanding reverance of Nature and kami. "

I doubt its the presure for advancing one's career; that's probably as old in Japan as the entire nature worship practice. They've probably shifted away from their religion for the same reasons that Europe shifted away from Christianity.

4/20/2007 9:06:01 AM

Did they stop cherishing nature before or after they razed most of it to build huge ass cities?

4/20/2007 9:12:07 AM

After. And if you knew anything about Shinto then you would know that it was State Shinto (which is now largerly abandoned) that held the religion hostage to prepetuate militaristic goals. Hmm...that sounds familiar. Remember that little thing called the Crusades?

Quote :

"remember what happened last time japan was ultra-religious Shinto was twisted by the government to coax the populous into military conflict?"

Fixed it for you.

[Edited on April 20, 2007 at 7:24 PM. Reason : .]

4/20/2007 7:22:08 PM

Quote :

"remember what happened last time japan was ultra-religious?"

yeah, man, them dang ol buddhists go all like ching ching ching and next thing you know theyre tryin all that world domination stuff







[Edited on April 21, 2007 at 2:00 AM. Reason : ]

4/21/2007 1:59:47 AM

^^ Please tell me of a culture dominated by a single religion where the religion wasn't eventually co-opted for dubious purposes. I'm not saying there aren't any, but I can't really think of any. Tibet doesn't count, at least not anymore.

Quote :

"Remember that little thing called the Crusades?"

Wasn't that the religion holding the state hostage? Or rather, the catholic church (as a state itself) holding other states hostage with the religion?

[Edited on April 21, 2007 at 2:05 AM. Reason : ]

4/21/2007 2:03:16 AM

^Don't bother with reason. Here's the story on HockeyRoman:

1. Boy watches anime
2. Boy develops Japan fetish
3. Boy champions a romantic image of Japan that never, ever existed and one that Japanese themselves would find foreign
4. Boy goes back to jacking off to cartoon tentacle rape porn

4/21/2007 2:22:28 AM

Wow. And who the fuck are you like you think you know me? Not that I have to justify anything to your bitchass but my conversion to Shinto had nothing to do with any of those things you listed. I actually researched a variety of religions when I became fed up with the hypocracy and disrgard for nature that I saw in Christianity. Sadly the only thing you think you know about Shinto is the West's version of how a bunch of religious zealots occupied China and bombed the US in WWII. But you failed to actually look beyond that and see that it was a mere blip on the time scale of Shinto/Buddhist history in Japan. But of course your ignorant ass jumps to faulty conclusions about it and people who defend it all while maintaining your head up your ass.

4/21/2007 2:35:45 AM

Quote :

"hypocracy"

4/21/2007 5:50:18 AM

aha NIPPOWNED

the state of Franklin is particularly interesting given the NC connection - it's interesting that for the most part all of this kind of stuff is disregarded as far as being taught in most public schools, but i suppose that's the idea

4/21/2007 9:47:59 AM

what would be the point of teaching about the state of franklin?

seriously, it's less than a footnote in american history...

now, it probably should be mentioned in 3d or 4th grade (whenever you have your sweeping overview of NC history, same with tennessee history classes), but beyond that, it's nothing remarkable...

4/21/2007 12:05:53 PM

Quote :

"hooksaw: "hypocracy""

Don't you fucking start with me, Webster.

4/21/2007 12:35:24 PM

I imagine that the State of Franklin is mentioned in Tennessee state history given how closely tied with their founding. I can see how it would be just a minor footnote at best in North Carolina history (though as a little kid, I always wondered why we lost all that territory west).

4/21/2007 2:26:02 PM

^^ ?

4/21/2007 8:19:49 PM

You know what I mean by now.

4/21/2007 9:00:33 PM

^ It's a joke, man, damn!

4/22/2007 1:40:56 AM

4/22/2007 12:03:27 PM

as a convert to shintoism, who the fuck do you pray to? You have no ancestors

4/22/2007 12:09:02 PM

Kami (for which I can try and given a better explanation as to what they are once I get back on at work if required). As for the ancestors thing I am still trying to work that out because my family has never kept a very good record of who they might be.

From what I understand Shinto isn't that far removed from more commonly understood Native American beliefs of nature spirits and ancestoral guidance.

4/22/2007 12:19:24 PM