gathering place; meeting spot
General term for a place where people gather or are brought together. Can be used for informal meeting spots or designated assembly areas.
This park has become a gathering place for the neighborhood children.
labour camp (Edo period); workhouse for vagrants and criminals
Historical abbreviation of 人足寄場 (にんそくよせば), a forced labour institution established in the Edo period for drifters, petty criminals, and the unemployed.
See also: 人足寄場
vaudeville theater; entertainment hall; music hall
A venue for traditional popular entertainment such as rakugo, manzai, magic, and music. Often synonymous with 寄席 (よせ), but 寄せ場 can emphasize the physical location or hall itself.
See also: 寄席
In the Edo period, vagrants were sent to labour camps and put to forced labour.
Even now, several vaudeville theaters remain in Asakusa.
Edo-period labour camp for vagrants and petty criminals
Standard spelling for the general meaning 'gathering place' and the historical labour camp.
Alternate spelling, less common but seen in historical contexts.
Compound of 寄せ (from 寄せる, 'to gather') and 場 ('place'). The historical sense is an abbreviation of 人足寄場.