also: じりょく
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.
Under the ritsuryō system, adult men were subject to corvée labor.
The manpower tax was often paid in rice or cloth instead.
Standard kanji spelling for this historical term.
Alternate reading; じりき is more common.
From 事 (ji, 'service, work') + 力 (riki, 'power, labor'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the term is specific to the ritsuryō legal codes.