Takenaka Corporation
Encyclopedia
Chuo-ku, Osaka
, Osaka is one of 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It has an area of 8.88 km2, and a population of 60,085. It houses Osaka's financial district, as well as the Osaka Prefecture offices and principal shopping and tourist areas.-Diplomatic missions:...
, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Osaka Prefecture
Osaka Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...
.
The company's website also claims it to be the oldest firm of that type anywhere in the world, since the demise of Kongō Gumi
Kongo Gumi
is a Japanese construction company and was the world's oldest continuously ongoing independent company, operating for over 1,400 years until it was absorbed as a subsidiary of another larger construction company...
which was substantially older. Both company originate from family of architect-carpenter (Miyadaiku).
In 1610 Tobei Masataka Takenaka (竹中 藤兵衛正高), a shrine and temple carpenter, started a business in Nagoya
Nagoya, Aichi
is the third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area in Japan.Located on the Pacific coast in the Chūbu region on central Honshu, it is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Moji...
. The business went on like a family business and built some of the first Western-style buildings during the last half of 19th century, most of them in Nagoya. In 1899 Toemon Takenaka (竹中 藤右衛門), 14th generation descendant of the original founder, established a branch office in Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
and founded Takenaka Corporation as an official company.
The company grew more and more during the 20th century, its capital in 1909 was about ¥
¥
¥ is a currency sign used by the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan currencies. The symbol resembles a Latin letter Y with a double stroke. The base unit of both currencies shared the same Chinese character pronounced yuán in Mandarin Chinese and en in Standard Japanese...
100.000, ¥
¥
¥ is a currency sign used by the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan currencies. The symbol resembles a Latin letter Y with a double stroke. The base unit of both currencies shared the same Chinese character pronounced yuán in Mandarin Chinese and en in Standard Japanese...
6 million in 1938, ¥
¥
¥ is a currency sign used by the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan currencies. The symbol resembles a Latin letter Y with a double stroke. The base unit of both currencies shared the same Chinese character pronounced yuán in Mandarin Chinese and en in Standard Japanese...
1.5 billion in 1959 and ¥
¥
¥ is a currency sign used by the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan currencies. The symbol resembles a Latin letter Y with a double stroke. The base unit of both currencies shared the same Chinese character pronounced yuán in Mandarin Chinese and en in Standard Japanese...
50 billion in 1979; nowadays, Takenaka Corporation is a multinational company with offices in 18 different countries. Its president is Toichi Takenaka (竹中 統一) (June 2004).
The company is now regarded in Japan as one of the "Big Five" contractors ranked with Kajima, Obayashi, Shimizu
Shimizu Corporation
is a leading architectural, engineering and general contracting firm, offering an integrated, comprehensive planning, design and build solutions for a broad range of construction and engineering projects worldwide...
and Taisei
Taisei Corporation
is a Japanese corporation which was established in 1873. Its main areas of business are building construction, civil engineering, and real estate development....
, and has a long history of designing buildings. The firm has built some of the most important buildings in Japan, including the Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Tower
is a communications and observation tower located in Shiba Park, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. At , it is the second tallest artificial structure in Japan. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and international orange to comply with air safety regulations.Built in...
, the Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium...
(the first large-scale stadium with air-supported membrane roof in Japan), the Fukuoka Dome
Fukuoka Dome
The is a baseball field, located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Built in 1993, the stadium can accommodate 35,695 spectators and was Japan's first stadium with a retractable roof....
(Japan's first large-scale stadium with retractable roof), and the Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel
Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel
is a hotel located close to Meriken Park, in Kobe, Japan. It was opened in June, 1995, only 6 months after the Great Hanshin earthquake destroyed much of the city. It is one of the more iconic buildings in the Kobe waterfront area called Harborland, and is often featured in pictures of Kobe,...
among others.
Among its proposals is the Sky City 1000
Sky City 1000
Sky City 1000 is a visionary supertall skyscraper in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan announced in 1989 during the height of the Japanese asset price bubble....
project.