Ivory is an incredible material, able to withstand the force exerted by a 12,000lb (5443kg) animal while fighting, digging or knocking down trees. Tusks, however, are nothing more than very large teeth, primarily composed of hydroxyapatite, a calcium phosphate compound. But despite ivory’s similarity to bone and human teeth, it possesses unique properties that present challenges for recreating it in the lab. Because ivory grows constantly throughout an elephant’s life, it contains two distinct structures, one at the micro-scale and the other at the nano-scale. It is also riddled with tiny pores, about one-tenth the size of cells. These characteristics give the material its strength – but they are also the reason ivory is so difficult to replicate.

In 2016, Ohtsuki managed to synthesize a small ivory-like block. But without any designated funding for the project, he has struggled to scale up production to something big enough to be useful for musicians. Nishihara approached a number of Japanese companies, hoping one of them would be interested in taking on the project to boost their social impact portfolio, but none agreed, citing financial constraints. It also seems unlikely that the Japanese government will step up. Representatives of various ministries that Nishihara and his colleagues have approached insist that they either do not have the funds or that the issue is outside their purview.

Though exasperated, the team is unwilling to give up. “We’re a really small group, and maybe our interests are easy to ignore,” Komoda says. “But by actually addressing this and finding a solution, maybe we could serve as a model for other communities around the world facing similar conflicts between culture and [the need to protect] endangered species.”

Ohtsuki’s efforts may be stalled, but others are progressing. Fritz Vollrath, a biologist at the University of Oxford, is conducting trials with a silk cellulose and hydroxyapatite-based ivory replacement. Vollrath and his colleagues in China believe the material could eventually be used to make artworks, piano keys, billiard balls and biomedical implants. The insights gained from studying ivory could perhaps even also be used to invent new car bumpers and other objects that would benefit from the material’s unique mix of energy absorption, flexibility and toughness.

There’s no reason, Vollrath says, that the ivory replacement his team is creating could not also be used for Japanese traditional instruments. “For us, this is really about trying to understand the material’s qualities and then seeing, from a commercial point of view, whether we can make it,” he says. “Obviously, the goal from there is to put it out for people to use.”

Vollrath and his colleagues are still working to get their material up to scale, but their progress so far is promising. Plans are in the works to recruit professional carvers, piano players and pool aficionados to try out the material. Japanese musicians would likely be keen as well. As Imafuji says, “I don’t want to keep using ivory if it’s out of step with the rest of the world.”

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Rachel Nuwer is an award-winning journalist who reports about science, travel, food and adventure for the New York Times, National Geographic, BBC Future and more. She is the author of Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking.

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