Kozuka signed on the reverse 菊岡光政 (Kikuoka Mitsumasa) followed by his kaō, as can be read in the photographs. According to the original seller, Mitsumasa was born in the ninth year of Hōreki (1759) and trained under Yanagawa Naomitsu; the Kikuoka school is known for precise composition and meticulous chiselling. The front shows a crawling dragon (hai-ryū) in black shakudō, carved in high relief and applied to a slightly lighter shakudō nanako ground of fine, even granulation that makes the figure stand out. The scales, the spiny dorsal crest, the claws, the mane and the whiskers are chiselled in great detail; only the eyes are inlaid in gold. The reverse is polished shakudō (migaki) bearing the engraved signature. The photographs show a deep, even black patina and a crisp nanako, with light signs of use: some rubbing on the ground and small surface scratches on the reverse. The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, which is not photographed. It comes in a paulownia box with a fitted recess. Declared dimensions: 97.7 × 14.8 mm.