A luminescent material which is featured in that it exhibits an emission peak at a wavelength ranging from 490 to 580 nm as it is excited by light having a wavelength ranging from 250 to 500 nm and that it has a composition represented by the following general formula (2): (M1-xRx)a2AlSib2Oc2Nd2  (2) (In the general formula (2), M is at least one metallic element excluding Si and Al, R is a luminescence center element, and x, a2, b2, c2 and d2 satisfy the following relationships: 0