The course number above may be wrong, but I took both his class on Tokugawa and the class on the religions of Japan and I can say that I learned a wide range of things from this professor that I consider invaluable. If you are looking for a class to fall asleep in and still get an A - this is not the class for you, but if that is you - you should be ashamed that you even go to UCLA. The people that complained before about when they emailed him to have things cleared up about the final - he makes it explicit from the beginning what the mid-term and final are going to be about. He gives you one of the possible essay topics every friday, so if you keep up with the reading and outline as you go, you will be totally prepared for everything he puts on both tests. Furthermore, if he takes the time to write a word on the board or on an overhead - it is a possible term for the mid-term or final. It is a challenge, but one that we came to this school to experience, and if you rise up to it you will walk away from this class with a great understanding of Japanese history and culture. The people that complain about him are the ones that want to never attend class and have a study guide handed to them that they can have all their fellow classmates explain to them. I was never surprised by the information he put on the tests, because he covered it extremely well, and anything that seemed obscure he would explain if you asked. Every time that I went to his office to ask a question, or emailed him with a legitimate question, he never failed to help me understand what was going on. He is an excellent teacher with a wealth of knowledge to pass on - you just have to be willing to work to get it, and you will do very well in this class

Professor Ooms is a wonderful instructor. It is apparent that he knows his Japanese religious history extremely well and has done extensive research on the topic. He is able to answer almost any question about the material. He is usually available to help and also returns emails quickly.

I do not believe he is as easy, however, as people have mentioned. The midterm and final are both worth 50% of the grade and consist of 5 ID questions (which he did not give out ahead of time,) and his choice of an essay question (from a possible 3 questions given out prior to the exam.) Nevertheless, the exams and grading are fair. His promptness in returning grades is also appreciated.