For you and Wayno;
Yes, however dating it to a specific era (Emperor) could be difficult, since the flower was adopted very early in Imperial Japan (around 1180). I doubt this blade is that old however, likely produced in the 1800's to 1930 or so. That would be Emperor Showa (Hirohito) or his father, grandfather, etc. Here's the list of Emperors from that period and earlier. As you can see, it quickly gets very complicated to accurately date, etc. Japanese blades. Even the experts are often stumped.
en.wikipedia.org
If the hilt can be taken off, there would likely be some kanji (characters), stamped or engraved on the steel which would help identify the maker and era.
I recently spend some considerable time researching the Katana I have, and had help from several people. But was only able to tentatively date it to the late 1930's.
Good luck with this, it's a fine looking knife.