also: とうさん
noun
mass flight; fleeing in all directions
Primarily a historical term referring to farmers abandoning their land and fleeing to escape heavy taxation, especially in pre-modern Japan. In modern contexts, it can be used metaphorically for a mass exodus.
江戸時代には、重税から逃れるために農民の逃散が相次いだ。
During the Edo period, there were successive cases of farmers fleeing their villages to escape heavy taxation.
その村では逃散が起こり、田畑が荒れ果てた。
In that village, a mass flight occurred, and the fields fell into ruin.
Standard kanji form; reading ちょうさん is more common in historical contexts.
Alternate reading; less common and may be considered archaic or dialectal.
Compound of 逃 (escape) and 散 (scatter). The term became fixed in Japanese historical discourse to describe the phenomenon of peasant flight during periods of heavy taxation.