The Type 91 10 cm howitzer was designed by the French company Schneider during the late 1920s per Japanese Army requirements and was considered to be light, robust and reliable.

The Japanese Army put heavy emphasis on capability and lightweight, insisting that Schneider reduce at least 200kg from the base model before formal adoption.

[10] It was intended to supplement, and eventually supersede the largely obsolete Type 38 15 cm howitzer, which had been in service since the end of the Russo-Japanese War.

Despite its lightness and its appearance of not having been quite finished, it is capable of throwing a 35 lb (16 kg) shell very nearly as far as can the heavier and far more formidable looking German 105 mm howitzer.

[9] The Type 91 10 cm howitzer was a standard 105 mm artillery piece of extremely light construction relative to range and weight of projector.