Kongō Gumi Co., Ltd. (株式会社金剛組 Kabushiki Gaisha Kongō Gumi?) is a Japanese construction company which was the world's oldest continuously ongoing independent company, operating for over 1,400 years until it was absorbed as a subsidiary of Takamatsu in 2006.[1][2] Headquartered in Osaka, the once family-owned construction company traced its origins to 578AD when one of the skilled immigrants, whom Prince Shōtoku brought from Baekje to Japan to build the Buddhist temple Shitennō-ji, decided to start his own business. Over the centuries, Kongō Gumi participated in the construction of many famous buildings, including the 16th-century Osaka Castle.@Curionic

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