Abstract: A stroboscopic device includes a flash discharge tube having an anode and a cathode, and an auxiliary light emitter for emitting light toward cathode. The auxiliary light emitter includes a light-receiving element for measuring a light intensity of external light near the flash discharge tube, a comparator for comparing the light intensity of light received by the light-receiving element with a predetermined threshold immediately before or substantially simultaneously with the light-emission timing of the flash discharge tube, and a lighting section that is lit when the light intensity is lower than the predetermined threshold based on a result of comparison by the comparator. This achieves a stroboscopic device and image pickup device that can stably emit light from the flash discharge tube irrespective of the surrounding environment.