Ichimoku Charting and Analysis
first harmonic cycle, the 26‐day period the second, and the 9‐day period the third
harmonic cycle in the market. The mid‐range prices of the Senkou Span A (which
contain the two Ichimoku mid‐range priced moving averages) and Senkou Span B
are all forward displaced by 26 days. This shows the degree of importance that the
50 percent level has in Ichimoku cloud analysis. The 50 percent level represents
the balance between the top and bottom halves of the market over harmonically
related lookback periods. They are, in reality, the lines of balance or equilibrium in
the markets. These lines of balance are then expected to remain relevant over the
next monthly or second harmonic cycle, that is, over the next 26 days.
There is another aspect of balance within Ichimoku charting that is somewhat
more subtle. It lies in the time domain. It is easy to see how a 52‐period cycle is
harmonically related to the 26‐period cycle. They belong to a set of even harmonics,
that is, periods related by a factor of 2 or ½. The 9‐period cycle of the Tenkan‐sen
belongs to the set of odd harmonics, that is, periods related by a factor of^1 /^3 , 3,^1 /^5 ,
5,^1 /^7 , 7, and so on. Therefore, balance in Ichimoku Kinko Hyo is reflected not only
in the construction and projection of the balance lines—which represents balance
or equilibrium within the price domain—but is also reflected in the balance be-
tween the use of odd and even harmonic cycles in order to capture the full expres-
sion of the markets. Therefore, the Tenkan‐sen 9‐period lookback is really about
tracking the odd harmonic cycle, which occurs approximately three times within a
monthly cycle (3 cycles × 9 days = 27 days). We see that the 26‐day lookback cycle
almost perfectly matches up with a 27‐day cycle lookback period, and may there-
fore be regarded, for all practical purposes, as a fairly accurate representation of aFIgure 16.23 Harmonic Relationship between Senkou Span A and Senkou Span B
within the Time Domain.