From 1860 to 1861, he was involved in boundary negotiations with Russia, and was a member of the Tokugawa shogunate's embassy to Europe.
Yasunao was adopted as the successor to Matsudaira Yasuhiro,[2] lord of the Tanakura Domain, in late 1864.
Shortly after his succession, he received the title of Suō no Kami and changed his name to Yasuhide.
Yasuhide was relieved of his duties as rōjū during the disintegration of the Tokugawa government in early 1868.
After the start of the Boshin War, he was briefly ordered into solitary confinement by the Meiji Government for a month in the spring of 1868; the next year, he retired in favor of his adopted heir, Yasutoshi.