Mr. Sakurai is the best deciple of Kohno and is the head of Kohno guitars. One of their fortes is that the tonewoods they work on are very well seasoned, and the guitars are very immune to the change of the climate, which make them one of the favorites among the guitarists traveling around the world. I think Kohno and Romanillos (based on Hauser which is a far descendant of Torres) are two of the best designs of the modern classical guitars.
Sorry about your arthritis. Actually, I figure one of the biggest problem among the modern classical guitar players is that the standard way of holding the guitar tend to cause tendonisis. The way 19th century guitars were held was way more tender to the body. Also, the 19th century guitars like La Cote, Panormo, Stauffer are much smaller, and their necks are more like today's electric guitars. So, they are much more comfortable to handle, carry and store. That's why I ended up with my copy.