A rear projector that can be made slim and compact and can prevent image reversal. The rear projector includes a cathode ray tube to scan light and generate an image, a projection lens unit to magnify and project the image generated by the cathode ray tube, a screen on which the projected image is formed, and a reflection optical system interposed between the projection lens unit and the screen to change a path of projected light. The cathode ray tube and the reflection optical system are arranged such that a raster direction of the cathode ray tube and a direction along which the image is formed on the screen are parallel or substantially parallel to each other.