It is believed that the Pure Land Paradise in which Amitabha resides lies in the west and, in order to reflect this, the building was constructed so that the statue of Amitabha can be seen on the opposite bank (a metaphor for nirvana) from pond's eastern bank (or the eastern bank of the Uji-gawa River that runs along the front of the temple).
阿弥陀如来の住する極楽浄土は西方にあると信じられており、池の東岸（あるいは寺の前を流れる宇治川の東岸）から、向かい岸（彼岸）の阿弥陀像を拝するように意図されたものである。