Kongō Gumi Co., Ltd., a Japanese construction company, was the world’s oldest continuously ongoing independent company until it was absorbed as a subsidiary of a larger construction company in 2006.  The company began in 578 AD.  They primarily built Buddhist temples, but also built coffins in WWII.  Major foreshadowing.  They hit hard times after some poor real estate investments, and by 2006 they were $343 million in debt.  I bet it feels pretty miserable to be the guy in charge of losing a company that had lasted for over 1400 years.  Hopefully, he built some sturdy coffins because 1400 years of ancestors are going to haunt the crap out of him.