About Moderntosho

Our goal is to help bring attention to the work of modern Japanese swordsmiths in the English speaking market. We hope to eventually offer a wide Ono Yoshimitsu by Tom Kishida. Used with Permission. variety of swords ranging from the "up and comers" to the best smiths working in Japan today. Currently we have an astounding Heian period inspired tachi by the Mukansa smith Ono Yoshimitsu and a marvelous kogatana in an Aikuchi mount by one of his students, Takano Yukimitsu. We are also selling copies of a new English language book on swords by Kunihira Kawachi. Each copy is signed by Kunihira along with a unique poem.

Detail View of Hada and Hamon on a Shobu Zukuri Katana by Ono Yoshimitsu. Photo by Keith Larman. Our primary goal is to help showcase the work of these talented people. We hope to extensively document each sword prior to sale and to eventually build an extensive gallery of modern sword photographs. We will provide biographical information when we can for the smith who made the sword so you can get a better understanding of the diversity of work in Japan today. These hard working smiths deserve a larger audience for their artistry. And we intend to help them get better known.

Modern Tosho was started by Ted Tenold and Keith Larman in 2005 with the goal of bringing the brilliant work of modern tosho in Japan to the American public. All work will be shown via the website first and foremost but we will be taking items to the major sword shows in the United States year round.

We hope to grow this venture over time. This website will serve as a record of the project. Please visit often as we plan to update the site frequently.