He teaches courses that span the range of Japanese history and has received Fulbright and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships for his research. Tom's scholarship focuses medieval Japanese history, and in particular the nature of warfare and the role of Buddhism and the state. He has published three monographs: In Little Need of Divine Intervention (Cornell, 2001); State of War: The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan (Michigan, 2003) and Weapons and Fighting Techniques of the Samurai Warrior (Amber Press 2008).