diff --git a/tensorflow/java/src/main/java/org/tensorflow/Tensor.java b/tensorflow/java/src/main/java/org/tensorflow/Tensor.java
index a64f8241e80135..cb0da8d8650ac6 100644
--- a/tensorflow/java/src/main/java/org/tensorflow/Tensor.java
+++ b/tensorflow/java/src/main/java/org/tensorflow/Tensor.java
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 /**
  * A typed multi-dimensional array.
  *
+ * Instances of a Tensor are <b>not</b> thread-safe.
+ *
  * <p><b>WARNING:</b> Resources consumed by the Tensor object <b>must</b> be explicitly freed by
  * invoking the {@link #close()} method when the object is no longer needed. For example, using a
  * try-with-resources block like:
@@ -78,7 +80,7 @@ public static Tensor create(Object obj) {
    *
    * <p><b>WARNING:</b>If not invoked, memory will be leaked.
    *
-   * <p>The Tensor object is no longer usable after {@code close} is invoked.
+   * <p>The Tensor object is no longer usable after {@code close} returns.
    */
   @Override
   public void close() {
diff --git a/tensorflow/java/src/main/native/exception_jni.cc b/tensorflow/java/src/main/native/exception_jni.cc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..3c1c9c2c27a60f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tensorflow/java/src/main/native/exception_jni.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+/* Copyright 2016 The TensorFlow Authors. All Rights Reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+==============================================================================*/
+
+#include <stdarg.h>
+
+#include "tensorflow/c/c_api.h"
+#include "tensorflow/java/src/main/native/exception_jni.h"
+
+const char kIllegalArgumentException[] = "java/lang/IllegalArgumentException";
+const char kIllegalStateException[] = "java/lang/IllegalStateException";
+const char kNullPointerException[] = "java/lang/NullPointerException";
+
+void throwException(JNIEnv* env, const char* clazz, const char* fmt, ...) {
+  va_list args;
+  va_start(args, fmt);
+  char* message = nullptr;
+  if (vasprintf(&message, fmt, args) >= 0) {
+    env->ThrowNew(env->FindClass(clazz), message);
+  } else {
+    env->ThrowNew(env->FindClass(clazz), "");
+  }
+  va_end(args);
+}
diff --git a/tensorflow/java/src/main/native/exception_jni.h b/tensorflow/java/src/main/native/exception_jni.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..b1239937f12962
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tensorflow/java/src/main/native/exception_jni.h
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/* Copyright 2016 The TensorFlow Authors. All Rights Reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+==============================================================================*/
+
+#ifndef TENSORFLOW_JAVA_EXCEPTION_JNI_H_
+#define TENSORFLOW_JAVA_EXCEPTION_JNI_H_
+
+#include <jni.h>
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+extern const char kIllegalArgumentException[];
+extern const char kIllegalStateException[];
+extern const char kNullPointerException[];
+
+void throwException(JNIEnv* env, const char* clazz, const char* fmt, ...);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+}  // extern "C"
+#endif  // __cplusplus
+#endif  // TENSORFLOW_JAVA_EXCEPTION_JNI_H_
diff --git a/tensorflow/java/src/main/native/tensor_jni.cc b/tensorflow/java/src/main/native/tensor_jni.cc
index 4cc7f096486c1e..3b9a081a36ac85 100644
--- a/tensorflow/java/src/main/native/tensor_jni.cc
+++ b/tensorflow/java/src/main/native/tensor_jni.cc
@@ -16,29 +16,22 @@ limitations under the License.
 #include "tensorflow/java/src/main/native/tensor_jni.h"
 
 #include <assert.h>
-#include <stdarg.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
 #include <algorithm>
 
 #include "tensorflow/c/c_api.h"
+#include "tensorflow/java/src/main/native/exception_jni.h"
 
 namespace {
 
-const char kIllegalArgumentException[] = "java/lang/IllegalArgumentException";
-const char kIllegalStateException[] = "java/lang/IllegalStateException";
-const char kNullPointerException[] = "java/lang/kNullPointerException";
-
-void throwException(JNIEnv* env, const char* clazz, const char* fmt, ...) {
-  va_list args;
-  va_start(args, fmt);
-  char* message = nullptr;
-  if (vasprintf(&message, fmt, args) >= 0) {
-    env->ThrowNew(env->FindClass(clazz), message);
-  } else {
-    env->ThrowNew(env->FindClass(clazz), "");
+TF_Tensor* requireHandle(JNIEnv* env, jlong handle) {
+  if (handle == 0) {
+    throwException(env, kNullPointerException,
+                   "close() was called on the Tensor");
+    return nullptr;
   }
-  va_end(args);
+  return reinterpret_cast<TF_Tensor*>(handle);
 }
 
 size_t elemByteSize(TF_DataType dtype) {
@@ -272,9 +265,7 @@ JNIEXPORT jlong JNICALL Java_org_tensorflow_Tensor_allocate(JNIEnv* env,
 JNIEXPORT void JNICALL Java_org_tensorflow_Tensor_delete(JNIEnv* env,
                                                          jclass clazz,
                                                          jlong handle) {
-  if (handle == 0) {
-    return;
-  }
+  if (handle == 0) return;
   TF_DeleteTensor(reinterpret_cast<TF_Tensor*>(handle));
 }
 
@@ -282,8 +273,8 @@ JNIEXPORT void JNICALL Java_org_tensorflow_Tensor_setValue(JNIEnv* env,
                                                            jclass clazz,
                                                            jlong handle,
                                                            jobject value) {
-  assert(handle != 0);
-  TF_Tensor* t = reinterpret_cast<TF_Tensor*>(handle);
+  TF_Tensor* t = requireHandle(env, handle);
+  if (t == nullptr) return;
   int num_dims = TF_NumDims(t);
   TF_DataType dtype = TF_TensorType(t);
   void* data = TF_TensorData(t);
@@ -299,8 +290,9 @@ JNIEXPORT void JNICALL Java_org_tensorflow_Tensor_setValue(JNIEnv* env,
 #define DEFINE_GET_SCALAR_METHOD(jtype, dtype, method_suffix)                  \
   JNIEXPORT jtype JNICALL Java_org_tensorflow_Tensor_scalar##method_suffix(    \
       JNIEnv* env, jclass clazz, jlong handle) {                               \
-    TF_Tensor* t = reinterpret_cast<TF_Tensor*>(handle);                       \
     jtype ret = 0;                                                             \
+    TF_Tensor* t = requireHandle(env, handle);                                 \
+    if (t == nullptr) return ret;                                              \
     if (TF_NumDims(t) != 0) {                                                  \
       throwException(env, kIllegalStateException, "Tensor is not a scalar");   \
     } else if (TF_TensorType(t) != dtype) {                                    \
@@ -322,14 +314,8 @@ JNIEXPORT void JNICALL Java_org_tensorflow_Tensor_readNDArray(JNIEnv* env,
                                                               jclass clazz,
                                                               jlong handle,
                                                               jobject value) {
-  // The exceptions thrown use "copyTo()" since readNDArray is a private
-  // function meant to serve the public Java copyTo() method.
-  if (handle == 0) {
-    throwException(env, kNullPointerException,
-                   "copyTo() cannot be called after close()");
-    return;
-  }
-  TF_Tensor* t = reinterpret_cast<TF_Tensor*>(handle);
+  TF_Tensor* t = requireHandle(env, handle);
+  if (t == nullptr) return;
   int num_dims = TF_NumDims(t);
   TF_DataType dtype = TF_TensorType(t);
   const void* data = TF_TensorData(t);
diff --git a/tensorflow/java/src/test/java/org/tensorflow/TensorTest.java b/tensorflow/java/src/test/java/org/tensorflow/TensorTest.java
index 7e74da3d170c66..41b35b27d216c0 100644
--- a/tensorflow/java/src/test/java/org/tensorflow/TensorTest.java
+++ b/tensorflow/java/src/test/java/org/tensorflow/TensorTest.java
@@ -184,4 +184,16 @@ public void failOnZeroDimension() {
       // The expected exception.
     }
   }
+
+  @Test
+  public void useAfterClose() {
+    int n = 4;
+    Tensor t = Tensor.create(n);
+    t.close();
+    try {
+      t.intValue();
+    } catch (NullPointerException e) {
+      // The expected exception.
+    }
+  }
 }