アコーディオン

1829, Duden traces German Akkordeon to the Accordion patented in Vienna by the Austrian instrument maker Cyrill Demian. The name is built on Akkord, chord, not on the bellows. Akkord itself comes through French accord, with the music sense of agreement of pitches. English accordion follows the same 19th-century European instrument name, and Japanese アコーディオン is listed by Shogakukan with the English source form accordion. In Japan, the word appears early in Meiji translation: Shogakukan cites 森田思軒's 1896 translation 十五少年 with 小風琴(アッコーヂオン). Western music vocabulary enters schools, military bands, and popular entertainment in the Meiji and Taisho periods. Heibonsha says it spread in Japan around Meiji 20, roughly 1887. アコーディオン stands beside ハーモニカ, オルガン, バンドネオン, and 手風琴, while its meaning settles on the portable free-reed instrument with keyboard or buttons and a hand-operated bellows. Modern Japanese アコーディオン is close to English accordion, but usage often points to folk, school, street, or popular music contexts rather than only concert instruments. The Japanese word does not name any instrument with bellows; バンドネオン and コンサーティーナ have their own names. A short example is アコーディオンを弾く, to play the accordion.