He grew up in San Francisco's Nihonmachi Japantown, attended Lowell High School, and took Japanese classes at Kinmon Gakuen.
While with Saarinen and Swanson, he, along with Terry Waugh and David Greer, won the "Better Chicago Contest" with a cash prize of $10,000.
Following a year of private practice in Kansas City, Missouri, Matsumoto joined the department of architecture at the University of Oklahoma as an instructor.
Kamphoefner was appointed as the first dean of the School of Design and he brought with him several students and faculty from the University of Oklahoma.
Matsumoto modernist houses share common characteristics, including; a flat roof, an unobstructed internal view from one end of the house to the other, terrazzo floors, natural woods for walls and ceilings, mahogany cabinetry, large windows in the rear, and small but functional kitchens.