Kose no Tokuta (巨勢徳多)
KOSE no Tokuta (巨勢徳多) (? - February 20, 658) was a statesman in the Asuka period. He was a son of KOSE no Kojin. He was the father of KOSE no Kuromaro. His name is also read as "Tokuda" and some historical documents write it as 徳太, 徳陀, 徳陀子 or 徳太古. He became Sadaijin (Minister of the Left) after the Taika Reforms.
At the imperial funeral of the Emperor Jomei, he performed the role of giving a speech to the spirit of the Emperor about his merit, on behalf of Imperial Prince Omata (son of the Emperor Bidatsu). The Kose clan was close to the Soga clan, and in 643, also Tokuta, as a close associate of SOGA no Iruka, led the army to destroy Prince Yamashiro no oe. However, in 645, when the Emperor Tenchi assassinated Iruka (the Murder in the Year of Isshi), he immediately surrendered to the Emperor (Imperial Prince at that time). He then participated in a campaign against the Soga clan, and persuaded the surviving retainers of the Soga clan to withdraw. Two years later, when the court rank system of Kan I Jusankai (Thirteen Grades of Cap Rank) was introduced, he was transferred to the rank of Shoshi (the sixth grade) for his achievement of that time, from Shotoku (the second grade) of the old court rank system of Kai I Junikai (Twelve Grades of Cap Rank). On June 5, 649, he was appointed as Sadaijin, which had been vacant since the death of ABE no Uchimaro, and promoted to Daishi (the fifth grade of Kan I Jusankai). The former ministers of the left and right, in their later years, had a conflict with Imperial Prince Naka no oe (later the Emperor Tenchi) over their policies, whose conflict drove SOGA no Ishikawamaro, former Minister of the Right, into committing suicide for an alleged conspiracy of rebellion. However, Tokuta administered the government with Minister of the Right OTOMO no Nagatoko, in cooperation with Imperial Prince Naka no oe and FUJIWARA no Kamatari.
In 651, Wakoku (Japan) turned back the envoys from Silla, as it came to know that Silla, following the Tang dynasty, had changed its system to that of the Tang dynasty. At that time, Tokuta, worrying that Silla might ally with the Tang dynasty, proposed to attack Silla before it would happen, but the proposal was refused. However, after the death of Tokuta, Wakoku was to be defeated by the combined forces of the Tang dynasty and Silla at the Battle of Hakusukinoe. He died from disease during his term as Sadaijin.