LIGHT EMITTING ELEMENT LIGHTING DEVICE AND LIGHTING FIXTURE USING SAME

The light emitting element lighting device in accordance with the present invention, includes: a light emitting unit including a light emitting element; and a power supply circuit configured to supply a supply voltage to the light emitting unit. The power supply circuit is configured to increase the supply voltage from a first voltage lower than a lighting start voltage of the light emitting element to a second voltage higher than the lighting start voltage to light up the light emitting unit. The power supply circuit is configured to, in a process of increasing the supply voltage from the first voltage to the second voltage, decrease a rate of increase in the supply voltage as the supply voltage gets closer to the second voltage.