Ichimoku cloud

Ichimoku's five lines: fast and slow range midpoints, a forward cloud, and a delayed close.

Ichimoku Cloud draws five lines from high, low and close. Tenkan-sen and Kijun-sen are the midpoints of the highest high and lowest low over 9 and 26 bars, so they follow the middle of the recent range rather than an average of closes. Senkou span A averages Tenkan and Kijun, and Senkou span B is the midpoint of a 52-bar range; both are drawn forward by displacement, but Senkou span A lands about 25 bars further right than standard Ichimoku. Chikou is the close from displacement bars earlier, drawn at the current bar.

How to read it

All five lines sit on the price scale, drawn over the candles.
Tenkan crossing above Kijun reads as short-term strength; crossing below reads as weakness.
The cloud is the band between Senkou A and Senkou B: price above it leans up, below it leans down. Its placement here runs late, so read it as a rough range band.
Chikou traces price delayed by displacement bars, so it adds little beyond the price line itself.

What it outputs

Tenkan-sen (fast line): The midpoint of the highest high and lowest low over tenkan_period bars. A fast balance line that stays close to price.
Kijun-sen (slow line): The midpoint of the highest high and lowest low over kijun_period bars. A slower balance line that price returns to often.
Senkou span A (cloud edge): The average of Tenkan and Kijun, drawn forward. It forms one cloud edge and sits about 25 bars later than standard at defaults.
Senkou span B (cloud edge): The midpoint of the highest high and lowest low over senkou_b_period bars, drawn forward. The other cloud edge and the slowest line.
Chikou span (delayed close): The close from displacement bars earlier, drawn at the current bar. A delayed copy of price, not the usual look-back line.

Settings

tenkan_period: Bars in the fast midpoint window. Raising it slows the line and smooths it; lowering it makes the line hug price and turn often. Default 9.
kijun_period: Bars in the slow midpoint window. Raising it slows the base line and delays its crossings with Tenkan; lowering it makes it track price tightly. Default 26.
senkou_b_period: Bars in the window behind Senkou span B. Raising it widens the range and makes that cloud edge step more slowly; lowering it makes the edge jump with recent range changes. Default 52.
displacement: How far the spans and Chikou are shifted. Raising it pushes the cloud further right and makes Chikou lag more bars; lowering it does the reverse. Default 26.

Pitfalls

Senkou span A is drawn about 25 bars later than standard Ichimoku at defaults: displacement is applied twice, once in the calculation and again on read-back. Do not treat the cloud as a forecast.
Chikou shows the close from 26 bars earlier at the current bar, the reverse of the usual Chikou (today's close drawn 26 bars back). Do not read it as a standard confirmation signal.
Every line is blank for the first 26 bars, and Senkou span B stays blank for about 100 bars at defaults, so the early chart shows fewer lines.