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Case file s689 · Lasting legacies · 578
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578
Kongo Gumi workers in early 20th century: Kongō Yoshie, the 38th master carpenter of Kongō Gumi and employees.
Kongo Gumi workers in early 20th century. 撮影者 不明 http://www.kongogumi.co.jp/enkaku.html. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
founded 578; family control ended January 2006
Place
Osaka, Japan
Field
temple carpentry
Legal tradition
Japanese family succession by son or adopted son-in-law; Japanese corporate insolvency · Civil law
Historical event
Collapse of Japan's 1980s bubble economy
Lasting legaciesMedievalEast AsiaJapan

The Kongō family built temples for 40 generations from 578, and lost the company to debt in 2006

The company history says Prince Shōtoku invited three craftsmen from the Korean kingdom of Baekje to build Shitennō-ji in Osaka. One, Shigemitsu Kongō, stayed to look after it. The company dates itself to 578. Sons-in-law often married in and took the Kongō name so the line could continue. The 25th head rebuilt Shitennō-ji after it burned in 1614. The 32nd head rebuilt it after lightning struck in 1801 and left a written testament. In 1868 the temple lost its lands and the family's stipend ended. In 1932 the 37th head, Haruichi, took his own life. His widow Yoshie became the 38th head, the first woman master carpenter in the line, and rebuilt the five-storey pagoda after a 1934 typhoon. The company was incorporated in 1955. In the 1980s it borrowed heavily to invest in property; the bubble burst, and demand for temple building fell sharply from 1998. In November 2005 Takamatsu Construction set up a new company. In January 2006 it took over the temple business and the Kongō family's management ended. The old company, renamed KJ Construction, filed for bankruptcy in July 2006 with ¥4 billion of debt†. Kongō Gumi is now a subsidiary of the Takamatsu group with about 100 craftsmen.

What the law took from it

Fourteen centuries of skill did not protect a family firm from one generation of borrowing against property.

Sources
  1. kongogumi.co.jpPress
  2. kongogumi.co.jpPress
  3. edinetdb.jpPress
  4. longnow.orgPress
  5. Wikipedia (English)Encyclopedia

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “The Kongō family built temples for 40 generations from 578, and lost the company to debt in 2006,” story s689, https://www.celebrity.estate/kongo-gumi-578, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

Lasting legaciesMedievalEast AsiaCivil lawJapan