Matsumura was born in Ibaraki Prefecture, of a samurai family.

In 1883, he had been made assistant professor of botany in the University of Tokyo under Ryōkichi Yatabe.

In 1890, he became professor at the University of Tokyo and in 1897 director of the Koishikawa Botanical Gardens.

[2] In 1922, Matsumura retired from teaching, and began to publish Waka poetry.

[3] Matsumura assisted in the preparation of Brinkley's Unabridged Japanese-English Dictionary (1896), and he published many important works on the flora of Japan, including: