[1] She went to the United States in 1893 to study,[2] beginning with two years of college preparation at Miss Stevens' school in Germantown, Pennsylvania.

With a letter of recommendation from Tsuda Umeko, she attended Bryn Mawr College, earning a bachelor's degree in 1899.

[9][10] She worked with the YWCA in Tokyo, and edited a women's journal, Meiji no Joshi, in 1907.

"Miss Matsuda's long unbroken devotion to the college, and her noble upright personality, combined with her scholarly mind, have added one more gem to the crown of Christian womanhood", commented fellow educator Kawai Michi on the occasion of Matsuda's retirement.

[15] Matsuda served on the national committee of the YWCA in Japan, with Tsuda, Kawai, Kei Okami, and Tomo Inouye.