noun
Edo-period labour camp for vagrants and petty criminals
Historical term for a facility established in 1790 by the Edo shogunate where homeless people, drifters, and minor offenders were confined and put to work, often learning a trade.
人足寄場は、江戸時代に無宿者や軽罪人を収容して職業訓練を行った施設だ。
The labour camp was a facility in the Edo period that housed vagrants and petty criminals and provided vocational training.
Compound of 人足 (にんそく, 'labourer') and 寄場 (よせば, 'gathering place'). The exact historical derivation is straightforward; the term directly describes the function of the institution.