木村：この学校は生徒のしつけが実によくできていますね。
鈴木：あまり派手なことはしませんが、地道な教育で知られているようですよ。
Jimichi
Kitnura: Kono gakko wa seito no shitsuke ga jitsu ni yoku dekite imasu ne.
Suzuki: Amari hade na koto wa shimasen ga, jimichi na kyoiku de shirarete iru yo desu yo.
Kimura: The students at this school are really very well behaved, aren't they?
Suzuki: They don't do anything special realty, but they're known for their straightforward approach to education.
Jimichi means steady-going, solid, or sound; honest, simple, sober, or stable. The michi (road) in this expression refers in the figurative sense to one's path through life.
I recently attended a conference at Reitaku University in Chiba Prefecture. The campus on which the university is situated is so big that, with the leaves on the trees in their autumn colors, it reminded me of an enormous park.
Amongst the trees, the school buildings - from kindergarten to university, all on the same site - are dotted here and there, and rabbits roam the grounds in their natural habitat.
Speaking to one of the professors, I commented on what a wonderful environment it was. Hiroike-shi no jimichi na doryoku no kekka desu (It's the result of Mr. Hiroike's honest hard work) , was his reply.
Hiroike was the founder of Reitaku University. Kare wa Meiji-ki no kyooiku no kaizen ni mo jimichi ni doryoku wo shimashita (He made a steady effort to reform the education system during the Meiji Era).
At the beginning of the Showa Era, when the government was considering sending troops to fight in China, Sensoo wo kaihi suru yoo ni, jimichi ni settoku wo kasaneta (He was relentless in his efforts to persuade them to avoid going to war), the professor told me. And at the university, they still have many of the letters which Hiroike sent to Kantaro Suzuki, an important naval officer at the time.
Lately, it is not often that we hear good news. So to hear stories like this now and then is like a breath of fresh air. Perhaps it is the fact that the founder's spirit still haunts the place, but the students are all so well-mannered. Polite expressions, like A' shitsurei shimashita (Oh, excuse me) , come naturally from the mouths of high school students here.
Even the baseball player, Ichiro, got where he is today because Kodomo no koro kara jimichi na renshuu wo tsuzukete kita (He practiced solidly from when he was a child), and that is how he became a star. At schools in Japan today, there are numerous problems with things like bullying, absenteeism, and violence inflicted by teachers. Jimichi na kyoiku koso, ima no shakai ni hitsuyo na mono daroo (Surely, now more than ever, society needs a more stable education system?)