also: りじん
noun
villager; village folk; countryfolk
Refers to people who live in a village or rural community; can carry a rustic or traditional nuance depending on context.
この祭りは里人たちが代々受け継いできたものだ。
This festival has been passed down by the villagers for generations.
里人は
The village folk are working in the rice fields from early morning.
Compound of 里 (sato, 'village') and 人 (hito, 'person'), with rendaku voicing of ひと to びと. The on'yomi reading りじん is a Sino-Japanese compound of the same characters.