KO no Muronao who was the steward of Muromachi bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) and Yoshiharu HORIO who served Nobunaga ODA and Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI and became daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) were to be said the descendant of the Takashina clan.
室町幕府の執事である高師直や織田信長、豊臣秀吉に仕え大名となった堀尾吉晴も高階氏の末裔とされる。