A trend indicator that uses five lines and a cloud to show at a glance where the price sits within its past price range.
- Weapon tier
- Elite
- Slots used
- On chart 5/6
- Created by
- Goichi Hosoda · 1969
Concept
Ichimoku takes the “midpoint” between the highest and lowest prices over several periods and draws each one as a line. There are five lines, Conversion, Base, Span A, Span B and Lagging, and the filled area between Span A and Span B is called the “cloud”.
The two leading spans are drawn 26 candles forward (toward the future), and Lagging is drawn 26 candles back (toward the past). All values are calculated from candles up to today. No future prices are used; only the place where they are drawn moves.
A cloud where Span A is above Span B is a bullish cloud, and one where it is below is a bearish cloud. This site and the game shade a bullish cloud lightly in the rising color and a bearish cloud in the falling color.
- Conversion
- Base
- Span A
- Span B
- Lagging
Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
100 candles with the five Ichimoku lines, the cloud and volume. The price stays below and inside the cloud for a while, then on candle 86 (↑) closes above the cloud for the first time and rises. The forward-shifted cloud continues past the last candle. Keyboard: ←/→ to move, +/− to zoom, 0 to see the whole chart.
↑ is the first candle that closed above the cloud. The cloud drawn in the empty space after the last candle is the forward-shifted leading spans. Drag the chart sideways with a finger or the mouse to move it, and pinch with two fingers to zoom in. With a keyboard, click the chart, then use ←/→ to move and +/− to zoom.
How it is calculated
Conversion = (highest high + lowest low) ÷ 2 over the last 9 candles
Base = (highest high + lowest low) ÷ 2 over the last 26 candles
Span A = (Conversion + Base) ÷ 2, drawn 26 candles forward
Span B = (highest high + lowest low) ÷ 2 over the last 52 candles, drawn 26 candles forward
Lagging = today’s close, drawn 26 candles back. That is why there is no Lagging over the last 26 candles.
Parameters
| What it sets | Name in the game | Default | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversion period (candles) | conversionPeriod | 9 | 2 – 60 |
| Base period (candles) | basePeriod | 26 | 2 – 120 |
| Span B period (candles) | spanBPeriod | 52 | 2 – 200 |
| Candles to shift forward and back | displayShift | 26 | 0 – 100 |
Trading ideas
When the price is above the cloud it is commonly read as a rising trend, below it as a falling trend, and inside it as undecided.
Cloud breakout: when a price that was below or inside the cloud closes above it, it is commonly read as a sign that the trend is changing. Some give it more weight when the cloud ahead is bullish. The chart on this page shows that scene.
Some also read the Conversion line crossing up through the Base line as a buy signal, and crossing down as a sell signal.
Common traps
- With five lines, it is easy to pick whichever signal suits you. Decide first what you will look at.
- A thick cloud is commonly read as “thick support (resistance)”, but that is no guarantee. Even a thick cloud can be broken by a single candle.
- When the price moves sideways inside the cloud, the signals mean little.
- The forward-shifted cloud is not a forecast. It only moves values up to today forward, and it is not a sure signal either.
In the game
- “Ichimoku Cloud” is an “Elite” weapon and uses 5 “On chart” lines (limit 6).
- Together with the two Simple Moving Average lines in the starting setup (2 lines), it comes to 7 lines, which is over the limit. Remove Simple Moving Average before equipping it.
- Pivot Line also uses 5 lines, so together the two go over the limit (6 lines) and cannot be equipped at the same time.
- An empty space is left after the last candle to draw the leading spans, so the candles on the match chart look a little narrower.
Related indicators and lessons
- MACD — A trend indicator that uses the gap between a fast and a slow exponential moving average to show whether the two averages are pulling apart or closing in.
- Pivot Line — An indicator that uses the previous candle’s high, low and close to set five reference lines (Pivot, R1, R2, S1, S2) for the current candle in advance.
- DMI — A trend indicator that shows, as two lines side by side, the force pushing highs higher (+DI) and the force pushing lows lower (−DI).
- Parabolic SAR — An indicator that uses a single trailing “stop line” to show whether the price is in a rising or a falling stretch, and when it flipped.
- Aroon — An indicator that judges whether a new trend has started by how long ago the recent high and low were made.
- Supertrend — A trend indicator that keeps a single line above or below the price and uses its color and position to show whether the price is in an uptrend or a downtrend.
- Exponential Moving Average — A line that averages recent closes with more weight on the newest ones, so it follows price changes faster than the simple moving average.
- MA Golden Cross — An event marker that puts a vertical line on the candle where the short moving average crosses up through the long one.
- MA Dead Cross — An event marker that puts a vertical line on the candle where the short moving average crosses down through the long one.
- ADX — An indicator that shows, as a number from 0 to 100, how strongly the price is moving in one direction, whether up or down.
- 2. Trends and sideways moves