A prominent figure in Osaka print and literary circles, Kitano Tsunetomi (born Tomitaro) was an educator, bijin-ga print designer, nanga painter, woodblock carver, and sosaku hanga print artist. Born in Kanazawa Prefecture in 1880, Kitano moved to the merchant city of Osaka at the age of twelve whereby he apprenticed to Nishida Suketaro, a preparer of hanshita-e. Kitano later studied nanga-style painting, sculpture, and woodblock carving under various teachers before joining the Hokkoku Shinpo's carving division in 1897. 

After a brief respite, he returned to Osaka to resume his study of painting under the ukiyo-e artist Inano Toshitsune. Working as a woodblock carver, Kitano also began publishing illustrations in serialized novels. By age thirty, he was exhibiting works with the Bunten and Inten exhibitions from 1910 and 1914, respectively. In 1912, Kitano established the Taisho Art Society, an organization dedicated to promoting child artists and three years later, went on to create the Osaka Art Society. He became a member of Saiko Nihon Bijutsuin in 1917 and remained an exhibitor at official exhibitions. 

In 1918, Kitano published the series Spring and Fall in the Pleasure Quarter and further contributed to New Ukiyo-e Beauties in 1924. Among his other contributions were various mokuhan covers for the satirical magazine Dai Osaka throughout the 1920s. In recognition of his artistic achievements, Kitano was invited to contribute to the Shotoku Memorial Painting Hall at the Meiji shrine in Tokyo in 1934. He further established the Hyakuyosha (White Radiance Company), a school and publishing house where he taught many children printmaking techniques. Kitano Tsunetomi continued his work in education and printmaking until his death in 1947 at age sixty-seven.