How to Read “Not lifting the lid of a story is the secret”
hanashi no futa wa toranu ga himitsu
Meaning of “Not lifting the lid of a story is the secret”
This proverb teaches that the only way to keep a secret is to never speak about it. No matter how trustworthy someone seems, once you share a secret, it’s no longer yours alone.
The person you tell might share it with someone else. The risk of the secret spreading grows with each person who knows.
You use this proverb when you learn important information or when someone confides in you. It serves as a reminder to yourself to stay silent. You can also use it to warn someone who’s about to carelessly reveal a secret.
In today’s world, we have social media and messaging apps. Information spreads instantly once it’s shared. This makes the proverb’s core teaching even more important: silence is the only true defense.
If you want to keep a secret, don’t talk about it from the start. That’s the only reliable method.
Origin and Etymology
No clear historical records explain the origin of this proverb. However, we can learn a lot by examining how the phrase is constructed.
Let’s focus on the word “lid.” A lid on a jar or bottle exists to protect what’s inside. Once you open the lid, the contents are exposed to air and might spill out.
This physical reality is compared to the relationship between a person’s mouth and secrets. “The lid of a story” treats a secret like something precious stored in a container. The lid represents keeping your mouth closed.
When you lift the lid—when you open your mouth and start talking—the secret inside spills out. This visual and easy-to-understand metaphor naturally spread among people.
During the Edo period, common people lived in close quarters, like in row houses. In such communities, being tight-lipped was proof of trustworthiness.
Against this social background, this proverb took root as an expression teaching the importance of keeping secrets. The metaphor used a familiar everyday object—a lid. This made it easy for everyone to understand and remember.
Usage Examples
- I learned about personnel changes at work, but not lifting the lid of a story is the secret, so I won’t tell anyone
- She shared her worries with me, and not lifting the lid of a story is the secret, so I won’t even tell my best friend
Universal Wisdom
Humans naturally have a strong urge to share information they’ve learned. The more secret the information, the stronger this urge becomes.
When we say “just between us,” we feel the thrill of sharing special information. We also feel the joy of confirming closeness with the other person.
But this proverb teaches us about what we lose in exchange for that brief satisfaction. Broken trust when secrets leak. Hurt feelings. Consequences that can’t be undone.
Our ancestors understood this human tendency deeply. That’s why they left us this proverb.
What’s interesting is that the proverb doesn’t say “speak carefully.” It says “don’t lift the lid.” It doesn’t accept halfway measures like “just a little” or “only to trustworthy people.”
This is because secret leaks always start with that first person. That one person tells the next, who tells another, and it snowballs from there.
In human society, trust is one of the most precious assets. Trust is built only through the steady accumulation of keeping secrets.
This proverb uses a simple metaphor to convey wisdom. The self-control to resist temporary urges protects long-term relationships.
When AI Hears This
When you view secrets through information theory, you see a structure surprisingly similar to physical laws. A secret is a “low-entropy state” where knowledge is limited to few people.
Entropy, simply put, is a measure of how scattered information is. A secret known by only one person has nearly zero entropy. If 100 people know it, entropy increases dramatically.
What’s important here is the “asymmetry of information copying” shown by Shannon’s information theory. Once information is transmitted, it’s copied to another storage medium—the receiver’s memory.
The moment you share a secret, the information’s location increases from one place to two. This copying process has no reverse operation. There’s no way to physically delete information from someone else’s brain.
Even more interesting is the speed of information spread. If two people know, theoretically four could know next, then eight, growing exponentially.
Even if each person “only tells one person,” the calculation reaches 1,024 people in just 10 steps.
The second law of thermodynamics states that gathering scattered heat back together requires enormous energy. Similarly, the cost of recovering spread information increases astronomically.
Secrets being “irreversible” isn’t a moral issue. It’s the physical nature of information itself.
Lessons for Today
For those of us living in modern times, this proverb challenges us to fundamentally reconsider how we handle information.
In the digital age, we encounter vast amounts of information daily. Internal workplace information. Friends’ personal troubles. Family matters.
When you learn such information, how do you act? The urge to post on social media. The sweet judgment that it’s okay to tell a trusted friend. Such moments will definitely come.
This proverb teaches us what true thoughtfulness means. It’s the strength to choose not to speak. Keeping silent isn’t a passive action.
Rather, it’s deep consideration for others and an active choice to protect your own character.
People who keep secrets become truly trusted by those around them. Being someone others think “I can safely talk to this person” is the most valuable asset in life.
Rather than the temporary joy of providing gossip or gaining attention, build long and deep trust relationships.
That is the wisdom this proverb offers you today—wisdom that enriches your life.
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