also: じりょく
noun
corvée labor; manpower tax (ritsuryō system)
Historical term from the ritsuryō legal codes; refers to labor service owed by able-bodied adult males to the state, or a tax paid in lieu of such service.
律令制下では、成年男子に事力が課せられた。
Under the ritsuryō system, adult men were subject to corvée labor.
事力は、しばしば米や布で代納された。
The manpower tax was often paid in rice or cloth instead.
From 事 (ji, 'service, work') + 力 (riki, 'power, labor'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the term is specific to the ritsuryō legal codes.