This Amahide Japanese Katana is rare and is an interesting history lesson:

The Japanese kanji engraved upon this katana's nakago, or the steel under the tsuka (or hilt/handle), as translated by a Japanese graduate student majoring in Japanese language and culture, contains the secret of the sword:

“Noshu Seki ju Ichimonji Minamoto Amahide kore wo kitaeru”

In English:

The swordsmith was Ichimonji Amahide, whose real name was Fukumoto Hideyoshi. Why he adopted a different name for his swordsmith career is unknown, but it is known that he became a bit of a “swordsmith” celebrity for the beauty and quality of his work. Few examples of his work are known to still exist.

During the war, Mr. Amahide held the status of “Jumei Tosho”, a title only conferred after a swordsmith had submitted an example of his work to the Japanese Army that passed its rigorous tests of cutting, bending, and impact. Only 5% of the swords submitted were awarded this designation. 

Mr. Amahide’s katanas are sought after in Japan and treasured by Japanese families who hid them after the surrender.

Mr. Amahide was a resident of the province of Noshu (Mino), in the village of Seki.

It is an officer’s sword hand forged by Mr. Amahide sometime around 1940, giving it the Japanese sword designation of Gendaito, or swords forged between 1875 and 1945.

The tsuba is brass with cherry blossoms signifying life and death, beauty and violence. This is a very rare tsuba engraving that signifies the sword was designated for senior officers only - colonels and generals. The Koshirae or mounting hardware also reflects the sword’s designation for the army’s most-senior imperial officers.

The grip is covered in white-ray skin and is woven with silk thread. The nagasa (blade) has zero rust or corrosion, and is in very-good to excellent condition for a katana of this period. It is absolutely beautiful and rare steel, and has maintained much of its razor-sharp edge. 

The scabbard has minor scars, but has retained 95% of its olive paint.

This is a rare Amahide katana, and the asking price reflects this.