For this reason, it had less explosive power and a relatively longer delay time than a dedicated manual hand grenade.

The Type 97 had the same form as most fragmentation grenades of the period: a cylindrical "pineapple grooved" segmented body which dispersed sharp pieces of shrapnel when it exploded.

However unlike "pin-pull" grenades of other armies, ignition of the time fuse was achieved by direct percussion of a striker.

A sharp blow against a hard surface, such as a rock, a tree trunk, rifle stock, the side of a boot heel, or combat helmet would overcome a creep spring and crush a thin brass cap, allowing the pin to hit the primer and initiate the delay sequence before throwing at the target.

[5] Even after the war ended the Type 97 grenade was used by independence movements across Southeast Asia against their European colonizers.