1. An image processing apparatus comprising: a level-value-limit smoothed-image creating unit that uses, using low-pass filters to which different level value ranges are set respectively, pixels in a received input image as pixels to be processed, calculates, from the pixels in the input image that includes the pixels to be processed that are included within a filter size of the low-pass filters, an average value of the pixels included in the level value ranges, and creates a plurality of level-value-limit smoothed images that is limited by a plurality of level values; a level-value combining unit that selects one or more of the level-value-limit smoothed images created by the level-value-limit smoothed-image creating unit and creates a level-value combined image by combining the selected level-value-limit smoothed images; and a smoothed-image creating unit that determines, on the basis of image information that is different from image information related to an image constituting an input image that is used when a plurality of level-value-limit smoothed images is created by the level-value-limit smoothed-image creating unit, a combining ratio of the input image to the level-value combined image that is combined by the level-value combining unit and creates a smoothed image, in which the input image is blurred, by combining, using the determined combining ratio, the input image and the level-value combined image.