Manuel Coden

Shakudo kozuka representing Kabuto, horse stick and banner on fine nanako ground. Price 200€ plus shipping

Shakudo kozuka representing a bell cricket and bamboo leaves on fine nanako ground. Price 200€ plus shipping

Copper kozuka representing a dragon and a tiger, late Edo period. Price 150€ plus shipping

The auction date is March 18th

Reduced to 1600€ plus shipping

Open to reasonable offers for a quick sale

Horse menuki made from solid gold (from density test should be around 18k), they have been modified on the back side probably to be used as jewelry, but they're still functional for mounting. Dimension of the single menuki is 28 mm and total weight is 9.17 grams. They come in a kiri box with pillow. Located in Italy,so no import taxes for EU. Price 1800€ plus shipping

Yesterday i attended the ceremony for the NBTHK competition, after that we also had the chance to have a preview of the exhibition. It was a great emotion and also an opportunity to meet many people of the Nihonto world.

Excellent article with great pictures, must have taken a lot of time and effort to create it

Thank you, i will sure do both I will update the post after the ceremony to tell how it went

I did gave it a thought, but there are several reasons why I don't do that. First and foremost I'm a father of a 2 years old, so my presence here is very much needed. Another reason is that for me this is an hobby, and actually I'd like to keep it that way. There's basically no professional tsubashi even in Japan, they all do side jobs (mostly jewelry), that's because nowadays is very hard to make a living out of it. So I rather work on my spare time, doing the occasional commission and my experiments. Also even in Japan nowadays nobody is working in this style, as you said there was Issei which was a Mukansa, but he left no student and his books didn't provide any information that I didn't knew already. So there won't be much help in going there to study as nobody can actually teach me. I've got so far with my own means, so I think I can keep doing it. Of course I go almost every year to Japan to study tosogu (and nihonto), so I think I'll keep this way, at least for some years 🙂

Thanks again guys

Today NBTHK published all the results for the contest 2025年度現代刀職展「研磨・刀身彫・彫金・外装の部」審査結果一覧.pdf Jeff Broderick won the 1st Effort Award and there were 7 Nyusen ranked after me. I should also adjust my statement, Jeff won at least another award in 2020 so, unfotunately for me, i'm not the first foreigner to win an award. But maybe i'm the first non-Japan resident to win It will be interesting to go the ceremony and compare my work with all these great artists!

Thanks, let me explain more about the design I chose. Maybe it's hard to see from the pictures, but the plate is concave, that and the shape of the cross with the amida yasuri makes it feel like the cross is embracing the viewer when seeing it in hand. The raised mimi gives a more powerful look overall. On the back the bold "INRI" (traditionally found in representations of the crucifixion) engraving is meant to be seen mainly by the wearer. The hitsu ana are filled with brass and shaped as the globus cruciger (cross-bearing orb) which represents the power of Christianity over the world. The etching on the mimi has the sentence "in nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti" (In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) and the placement of the cross on the mimi Is exactly where the wearer would rest his thumb when ready to unsheat the blade. I hope this explanation will make you appreciate it a little more 😄

Thank you everyone! The writing on the mimi wasn't actually engraved, but it was written in lacquer by a friend of mine, she's a calligrapher specialized in medieval writing, then etched. All the tsuba elements were studied to carry a meaning and to be plausible to find on a Momoyama period tsuba, so also the style of calligraphy is the one used in late 16th century.