A wall alcove. An alcove that has no recessed space and no appurtenances such as a framing board *tokogamachi 床框, a top facing board *otoshigake 落掛, or any type of demarcation denoting an area set off from the main part of the room. There is only a hook in the wall for hanging a scroll. In some large rooms, only a regular mat-size baseboard is placed against the wall to serve as the kabedoko. The oldest existing kabedoko is thought to be an 18 cm alcove in a *shoin 書院 style built at the Shōden'in 正伝院, a branch of Kenninji 建仁寺 in Kyoto, by Oda Uraku 織田有楽 (1547-1621). The kabedoko differs from the *oribedoko 織部床 created by Furuta Oribe 古田織部 (1543-1615) in that the latter has a smoothly planed board about 20 cm wide, or a length of bamboo, set between posts attached to the wall just below the ceiling, for mounting the scroll hook. The kabedoko is said to be the earliest type of alcove and thought to be a forerunner of the *tokonoma 床の間. The kabedoko style of alcove was greatly favored from the time of Sen Rikyū 千利休 (1522-91) to the time of Sen Sōtan 千宗旦 (1578-1659). According to the Sukiya kōhōshū 数寄屋工法集, "The alcove called a wall alcove was favored by Rikyū, and it should be pointed out that when Sōtan had the Konnichi'an 今日庵 built, he also used a wall alcove."
