Room to maneuver - room to maneuver

Japanese: 手余地 - てあまりち

In early modern Japan, this refers to farmland that was abandoned due to a lack of labor. In the early days, the main reason for this was the extortion and taxation of feudal lords. Unable to bear the burden of taxes, peasants fled, ran, or went bankrupt, leaving their villages, and new lands were created in their place. For example, in the spring of 1618 (Genwa 4), in Tochikubo village under the Aizu domain (Gamo clan), the entire village's peasants fled in protest against the heavy burden of taxes and other duties. In response, the domain exempted them from taxes and other duties, offering a concession that "the fields will be cultivated and the various duties will not be charged...and even undeveloped land will be abandoned," but the peasants did not return to the village, and by October of the same year, the village was in a state of disrepair, with the head of the village and everyone else absent.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

日本の近世期に，手不足のために耕作放棄された耕地をいう。初期には，その最大の原因は領主の苛斂誅求（かれんちゆうきゆう）にあり，年貢諸役の負担に耐えかねた百姓が逃散（ちようさん），走り，潰れ（つぶれ）などで離村し，その跡に手余地が発生した。例えば1618年(元和4)春，会津藩(蒲生氏)領の栃窪村では年貢諸役の重圧に抗して村ぐるみで百姓が逃散し，これに対して藩は年貢諸役を免じて〈田地は作取（つくりとり），諸役之儀も申付間敷……未進をも用捨〉と譲歩したが百姓は帰村せず，同年10月には肝煎（きもいり）以下全員が村に不在という荒廃状態になった。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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