Ichimoku Cloud (Ichimoku Kinko Hyo)
ichimoku · Ichimoku Kinko Hyo — Hosoda's five lines
What it measures
A five-line system meant to show trend, momentum and support or resistance in one view. Three lines are midpoints of the high-low range over 9, 26 and 52 bars; one is the average of the first two; and one is simply the close. The space between the two "leading span" lines is the cloud.
How traders use it
- Trend: price above the cloud is bullish, below is bearish, inside is undecided.
- Signals: the conversion line (Tenkan) crossing the base line (Kijun) is the most common entry trigger.
- Support and resistance: the cloud edges and the base line act as levels price often reacts to.
- A thick cloud is read as strong support or resistance, a thin one as weak.
Parameters
| Name | Value | Default | Allowed | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| conversionPeriod | 9 | ≥ 1 usual 5–20 | Bars for the conversion line (Tenkan): the midpoint of the high-low range. Classic value 9. | |
| basePeriod | 26 | ≥ 1 usual 10–60 | Bars for the base line (Kijun). Classic value 26. | |
| spanBPeriod | 52 | ≥ 1 usual 26–120 | Bars for leading span B. Classic value 52. | |
| displacement | 26 | ≥ 1 usual 10–60 | How many bars the classic chart shifts the cloud forward and the lagging line back. Recorded with the study, but see "Good to know": Tidal does not shift the lines yet, so changing this does not move anything. |
Outputs
| Tenkan | Conversion line: the 9-bar high-low midpoint. |
| Kijun | Base line: the 26-bar high-low midpoint. |
| SenkouA | Leading span A: the average of the conversion and base lines. |
| SenkouB | Leading span B: the 52-bar high-low midpoint. |
| Chikou | Lagging span: the close. |
Drawn in one colour, one line per output, told apart by line texture. Hover the chart to read each one.
Good to know
On a textbook Ichimoku chart the two leading spans are drawn 26 bars into the future and the lagging span 26 bars into the past. Here every line is drawn at the bar it was calculated on, so the cloud is not shifted and the lagging span sits exactly on the close. The values are correct; only the placement differs. The cloud is drawn as two lines rather than a filled area.