In 1921, the Japanese Naval Arsenal at Yokosuka started design of a single-engined reconnaissance floatplane to replace the Navy's Yokosuka Ro-go Ko-gata floatplanes.
Although the Type 10 was not adopted by the Japanese Navy,[REF] it was again redesigned, reducing the wingspan from 16.16 m (53 ft 0¼ in) to 13.99 m (45 ft 11 in) and reducing the empty weight from 1,912 kg (4,215 lb) to 1,660 kg (3,659 lb) [REF].