also: りょくえき
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru'
physical labor; manual work
General term for physical work or labor, often used in formal or historical contexts. Can be used as a noun or with する to mean 'to perform physical labor'.
昔の農民は重い力役に苦しんだ。
Farmers in the past suffered under heavy physical labor.
この仕事は力役
This job involves a lot of physical work and is tough.
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru'
forced labor (historical); corvée
Specifically refers to compulsory labor imposed by the government, especially under the ritsuryō system. Historical term; not used for modern forced labor contexts.
See also: 力役 (りきやく)
律令制のもとで、民衆は力役を課せられた。
Under the ritsuryō system, the people were subjected to forced labor.