A W^* - representation of a \mathrm{II}_1 subfactor N\subset M with finite Jones index, [M:N]<\infty , is a non-degenerate commuting square embedding of N\subset M into an inclusion of atomic von Neumann algebras \oplus_{i\in I} \mathcal{B}(\mathcal K_i)=\mathcal N \subset^{\mathcal E} \mathcal M=\oplus_{j\in J} \mathcal{B}(\mathcal H_j) . We undertake here a systematic study of this notion, first introduced by the author in 1992, giving examples and considering invariants such as the (bipartite) inclusion graph \Lambda_{\mathcal N \subset \mathcal M} , the coupling vector (\dim({}_M\mathcal H_j))_j and the RC-algebra (relative commutant) M'\cap \mathcal N , for which we establish some basic properties. We then prove that if N\subset M admits a W^* -representation \mathcal N\subset^{\mathcal E}\mathcal M , with the expectation \mathcal E preserving a semifinite trace on \mathcal M , such that there exists a norm one projection of \mathcal M onto M commuting with \mathcal E , a property of N\subset M that we call weak injectivity/amenability , then [M:N] equals the square norm of the inclusion graph \Lambda_{\mathcal N \subset \mathcal M} .