Just to add to what Abilene said. I have 3 Uberti 1873's and two Miroku 1873's--plus one original. See the "show us your 1873" thread for pictures. Pound for pound the Uberti is a more accurate reproduction of a New Haven made 1873 than the Miroku is with the one exception of the wood. European walnut in it's natural state is grayish brown tending toward tan. That's why they put a red tinted gloss varnish on it. Sometimes it comes out looking good and sometimes garish. It's also hard to refinish and get it looking right.
Winchester mostly used straight grained American walnut (also called black walnut) which had a satin oil finish. Of course back in the day, one could pay for premium grade wood in a Winchester and choose a glossy varnish if they wanted. I have read that the oil Winchester used also had a light red tint to it, but regardless the Uberti wood just never looks quite right even when they do look pretty.
Miroku only uses American walnut, but in different grades from production run to run generally with a satin oil finish. Consequently, once again what you get is sort of luck of the draw, unless the production run is clearly labeled to have been fitted with premium wood. They have run some collector grade versions of their 1892's, 1886's, and 1895's with a high gloss varnish over figured wood, but then those are usually intended for collector show pieces rather than normal use.
From what I have seen, the Miroku made Winchesters do come with the wood well fitted to the metal, but slightly proud and this is a good thing IMHO, since it allows for future stock refinishes and sanding to correct for handling marks.
Below is a comparison shot starting at top with a Uberti in 45 Colt followed by the 1891 original inherited from gramps in 38-40 cal. with the Miroku 44-40 long rifle next and Miroku .357 mag short rifle on bottomThe Uberti at top is the least attractive IMO, just because of that glossy red tinted finish. I have another newer Uberti special sporting rifle (checkered pistol grip stock) and although darker, it looks much better than this one.
Of course the grandpa's original has over 120 years of oil and handling in its wood, but it's pretty much unfigured straight grained American (black) walnut that came with a simple oil finish. His rifle also came in a standard blued finish, which has now turned mostly grey/plum/brown. It was a working farm/hunting rifle for almost 60 years, but it's still tight with a great bore. .
Although both of the Miroku 1873's have an oil finish, you can easily spot the difference in the wood of the two rifles. The butt stock of the short rifle at bottom has a straight grain, but seems to have a bit of a tiger stripe while the forearm does not. It's OK, but the two pieces of wood don't seem to match up too well for the same rifle. (luck of the draw again) Most of the other short rifles from Miroku that I have seen pictured at the auction sites have plain standard grade straight grain wood although I have seen a couple that came with very nice wood similar to what I got with the Miroku sporting rifle.
The wood on the longer barreled sporting rifle was listed as grade II/III, so it was intended to be premium wood. It's still oil finished American walnut, but a premium grade with lots of marble figuring. Also the fore and aft wood is a much better match. It's simply gorgeous in person and I am more than pleased with it.
Having to bring American walnut to Japan for the production of their Winchesters probably contributes to the higher cost and I suspect that if Uberti started doing this, their prices would have to be raised also. Pedersoli uses American walnut for most of their black powder reproductions of American firearms and they are all priced higher accordingly.
Cheers