Yojimbo (Japanese: 用心棒, YÅjinbÅ) is a 1961 jidaigeki (period drama) film by Akira Kurosawa. It tells the story of a ronin (masterless samurai), portrayed by Toshiro Mifune, who arrives in a small town where competing crime lords make their money from gambling. The ronin, who calls himself Sanjuro (meaning "thirty-year-old") convinces each crime lord to hire him as protection from the other.