  The Subaru Telescope is an 8.2 m optical/infrared telescope constructed
during 1991--1999 and has been operational since 2000 on the summit area of
Maunakea, Hawaii, by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ).
This paper reviews the history, key engineering issues, and selected scientific
achievements of the Subaru Telescope. The active optics for a thin primary
mirror was the design backbone of the telescope to deliver a high-imaging
performance. Adaptive optics with a laser-facility to generate an artificial
guide-star improved the telescope vision to its diffraction limit by cancelling
any atmospheric turbulence effect in real time. Various observational
instruments, especially the wide-field camera, have enabled unique
observational studies. Selected scientific topics include studies on cosmic
reionization, weak/strong gravitational lensing, cosmological parameters,
primordial black holes, the dynamical/chemical evolution/interactions of
galaxies, neutron star mergers, supernovae, exoplanets, proto-planetary disks,
and outliers of the solar system. The last described are operational
statistics, plans and a note concerning the culture-and-science issues in
Hawaii.
