マンション

1924 is the first example cited by Seisenban Nihon Kokugo Daijiten for マンション: Arahata Kanson's Roshia ni Hairu uses the word in a foreign-city setting. The source is English mansion, a large residence; etymological dictionaries connect it further with Latin manere, meaning to remain or stay. Digital Daijisen still notes the original sense as 大邸宅 before giving the Japanese housing sense. In Japanese housing, the major shift happened after World War II. Encyclopedic sources note first supplies in Tokyo in the mid-1950s, general spread around 1960, and a first boom near the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Real-estate sellers used マンション to separate concrete, multi-story, often condominium-style housing from アパート, 公団住宅, コーポラス, and other apartment terms. The 1962 Unit Ownership Act also helped frame condominium ownership, although ads still follow convention. Modern Japanese マンション means an apartment building or condominium, often with reinforced concrete, elevators, and private ownership units. English mansion still means a very large house for one household, not a normal flat. The usual English translations are apartment, condominium, or apartment building, depending on ownership and context. In rental ads, ワンルームマンション is a small studio apartment, not a grand house. Example: 駅近くのマンションに住んでいる.