Aspects of the invention can provide a display device, a display method, and a projection type display device that allow a characteristic of a display image such as brightness to be continuously changed. The display device can include a light source capable of emitting a plurality of different color lights and a white light, and an optical modulation device for modulating light corresponding to the lights emitted from the light source. The ratio of the period of emitting the white light relative to the total of the periods of emitting the lights from the light source can be variable.