Hi Paul,
You have no worries with this sword at all.
It is 100% Japanese Late war NCO issue. The serial number is 'early' meaning that it was issued at the cusp of the transfer from Aluminium handles to Wooden handles, so it is one of the very first Wooden handled patterns issued.
All unused 'old stock' was utilised and not wasted, especially during wartime, hence the fullered blades were used until they ran out and began using the unfullered blades for continued production.
As a general rule, all of the Wooden handle Late War Patterns have Unfullered blades as is well documented in reference books. This 1st variant with the steel scabbard should have matching serial numbers on blade and scabbard, and yours certainly does.
Cheers
Ern
BTW-Dawson's book also mentions that Serial Number 202171 is a side lock Aluminium handled sword.
This is already in the 202100-215405 range he mentions for the 1st Wood Handled pattern! The sampling he used is small, so not a definitive guide for the number range, but it indicates that both patterns were being produced at the same time for a short period while transitioning to the new model.
I hope this helps somewhat.
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