A large liquid crystal display (100) comprises a light guide plate (3) arranged on the back side of a liquid crystal panel (1). The front surface of the light guide plate (3) is flat, while the back surface thereof is concave. The upper and lower end faces of the light guide plate (3) respectively facing hot cathode fluorescent lamps (2a, 2b) have a convex shape projecting toward the respective lamps. White light from the fluorescent lamps is incident on the upper and lower end faces of the light guide plate directly or by being reflected by reflectors (4a, 4b), and propagates within the light guide plate while being reflected by the front and back surfaces of the light guide plate. At the front surface of the light guide plate, a part of the white light is directed toward the back side of the liquid crystal panel (1) by a light guide portion (5).