Ichimoku Charting and Analysis
timeframe Implications and setting the Ichimoku
to an underlying Cycle
The implication of all this is that the Ichimoku charting was specifically de-
signed for use on the daily timeframe, or daily interval chart. It was con-
structed to exploit the natural monthly (i.e., 26‐day) market cycle. There was
a reason to use the daily charts. Applying Ichimoku charting on other time-
frames where no real underlying 26‐period cycle exists will generally render
it less effective. The Ichimoku chart is essentially a harmonic wave analyzer,
and as such either the Kijun‐sen or Senkou Span A lookback periods are tuned
to the main underlying cycle, allowing the Senkou Span B to analyze the next
lower (even) harmonic cycle, while the Tenkan‐sen analyzes the odd harmonic
cycle period above that of the Senkou Span A. Therefore, in order to employ
Ichimoku analysis on other market cycles, set either the Kijun‐sen or Senkou
Span B to the new cycle period. But the ratio of the lookback periods must be
preserved.
For example, the lookback‐period ratio between the Ichimoku overlays is 9
to 26 to 52. So if the new cycle period under observation is 104, we either set the
Kijun‐sen or Senkou Span B to this new value.
For setting it to Senkou Span B (as the first harmonic cycle), we calculate it as
follows:First, find the multiplication factor, MF.
MF = (new cycle period/Senkou Span B)
= 104/52
= 2FIgure 16.25 Projection of Mid‐Range Price for the Four Ichimoku Overlays within
the Price Domain.
Source: MetaTrader 4