Abstract: A cleaning blade, including a reed-shaped elastic blade configured to move an edge of the elastic blade on the surface of a member to be cleaned while contacting the edge to the surface thereof to remove a powder therefrom, wherein surface layers harder than the elastic blade are formed on an distal face having the edge as one of its lines facing the member to be cleaned and an proximal face having the edge as one of its lines parallel in a thickness direction of the blade, respectively, and wherein a friction coefficient between the surface layer on the distal face of the blade and the member to be cleaned is lower than that between the surface layer on the proximal face of the blade and the member to be cleaned.