Kikakuten (企画展) is a special exhibition: a temporary show built around a theme, an artist or a loan of works, running for a fixed period — usually two to three months — and ticketed separately from the permanent collection.

This is the show a Tokyo museum advertises. Titles you'll see on listings often carry the marker directly, as in 企画展「スープはいのち」 at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT. Anniversary framings are common too: 生誕120周年 (120th anniversary of the artist's birth) or 没後100年 (centenary of their death) signal why a show is happening now.

Practical consequence: a kikakuten has an end date, and popular ones at the National Art Center or Mori Art Museum sell timed-entry tickets. Check the closing date before planning around it.

See also shozohin-ten and bijutsukan, or browse exhibitions in Roppongi.