In 1112, his father died suddenly in the Kurodo dokoro (the Chamberlain's Office); being a young boy, he was adopted by TAKASHINA no Tsunetoshi, one of his relatives.
ところが、天永3年（1112年）に父が蔵人所で急死したため、幼少であった通憲は縁戚であった高階経敏の養子となる。