A heat-generating section of this radiant heater has a plurality of heat-generating wires. The plurality of heat-generating wires are connected in parallel such that a plurality of parallel groups of the wires are formed by electrodes. Further, the plurality of parallel groups are connected in series by the electrodes. The heat-generating section is set such that a radiant temperature, at which radiant heat that would make a person feel warm can be radiated, can be reached. The thermal resistance of the heat-generating section is set such that when an object contacts the surface of the section, the temperature of the site of contact with the object is decreased to a suppressed temperature lower than the radiant temperature. The temperature of the heat-generating section increases rapidly in response to electric conduction. When there is contact with an object, the temperature of the heat-generating section decreases rapidly.