Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus, which is provided with a blade for wiping the surface of discharge openings of an ink jet recording head, and a blade cleaner for removing ink adhering to the blade, comprises a cleaning device for cleaning the blade by enabling the blade cleaner and the blade to reciprocate correlatively. This cleaning device causes the blade cleaner to be in elastic contact with the blade intensively without rotating the blade cleaner when the blade moves forward, and for causes the blade cleaner to rotate to be in elastic contact with the blade weakly when the blade moves backward. With the structure thus arranged, it is possible to reduce the spraying of ink from the blade into the interior of the ink jet recording apparatus significantly. Therefore, the surface of discharge openings of the ink jet recording head can be cleaned by a blade in good condition to make it possible to operate cleaning in the most suitable mode.