One of the most prolific artists of the shin hanga landscape genre, Ito Takashi was a nihonga style painter born in 1894 near Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka Prefecture. As a student of Kiyokata Kaburagi, Ito learned traditional painting techniques before enrolling at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, where he continued his studies with the painter Somei Yuki. After graduating, Ito exhibited several of his paintings at Teiten with relative success. In 1922, he met the publisher Watanabe Shozaburo and entered into an artistic collaboration that would extend throughout the following decade. 

Early on, Ito had experimented with compositions printed in few colors, such as Sunset: Inside the Moat of Tokyo University (1923). An example of "Japanised Japonisme," its visual structure resembles that of early twentieth-century French prints, showing a marked influence on the new generation of shin hanga artists. However, his later prints produced throughout the 1930s were made in full color and, in many ways, resemble the majestic landscapes of Kawase Hasui and Yoshida Hiroshi. Mount Kashimayari Seen from Mount Happo, Japan Alps (1932), is a prime example of Ito's work, showing the grandeur of the Northern Alps with unique design and execution. Such works were distributed by the Society for the Appreciation of Edo Pictures (1918–35), an organization founded by Watanabe Shozaburo. In total, Ito produced nearly fifty shin hanga landscape prints for Watanabe.