A compositional technique used to depict a residential interior. The technique involves rendering a building without a roof and ceiling so that the viewer looks inside from above. It is widely employed in *yamato-e やまと絵 in the Heian and Kamakura periods, especially in handscrolls (see *emaki 絵巻) illustrating classic novels, monogatari-e 物語絵, which include many scenes set inside aristocratic residences. Such images were usually depicted using either in the built-up painting technique, *tsukuri-e 作り絵, or monochrome, *hakubyō 白描. The earliest extant use of the fukinuki yatai technique can be found in The Biography of Prince Shōtoku, Shōtoku Taishi e-den 聖徳太子絵伝 (1069), which originally decorated the walls of the Picture Hall, Edono 絵殿, at Hōryūji 法隆寺 (Tokyo National Museum). The position of the imaginary viewer tends to become higher in Kamakura period compositions in order to allow the artist to depict wider interior spaces. Even after the Muromachi period, this technique was used in works following the tradition of yamato-e style and themes.
