September 1 is Disaster Prevention Day — marking the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake (~105,000 dead or missing) and the typhoon-prone 210th day, established 1960.
89 years ago, the Imperial Hotel at Hibiya Park south of the Palace — Frank Lloyd Wright's stone building (predecessor to today's) = photo = — was preparing its completion banquet. At 11:58 a.m., the quake struck. Surrounding buildings collapsed; the hotel stood largely intact.
Manager Inumaru Tetsuzo canceled the banquet, ordered kitchens extinguished, windows closed, and formed a bucket brigade from the entrance pool to the roof — also dousing the burning Tokyo Electric Light across the street. Photos show smoke from the neighbor while the hotel survived.
Many hotels opened on September 1 besides the Imperial — New Otani, Tokyo Prince (1964), Hotel InterContinental Tokyo (1995), Park Hotel Tokyo (2003), The Peninsula Tokyo (2007)... Coincidence? Milestone dates? Or following the quake-proof Imperial?