In 2003, Takeshi Kitano produced a new high-budget Zatoichi film, called Zatoichi (座頭市 Zatōichi). Kitano plays the role of the blind swordsman himself. The film's plot follows a traditional theme, with Zatoichi coming to the defense of townspeople caught up in a local gang war, and being forced to pay excessive amounts of protection money. Zatoichi befriends a local farmer, helping her gambling nephew and two geishas who are seeking revenge for the murder of their parents.