[1] He was a contemporary of fellow expatriate artists Urushibara Mokuchu, Yoshio Markino and Kurihara Chuji.
[3] During the war, he worked with the British Red Cross in providing support and entertainment for wounded soldiers in art and lacquerwork and, later, in displays of Judo and Kendo, firstly at Kitchener House in Hyde Park and subsequently at Richmond House, Surrey, earning a British Red Cross Society Commendation.
[1][2] Unlike the majority of the Japanese community, who returned home as a result of anti-Japanese feeling during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II,[1][4] Matsuyama appears to have remained in Britain, becoming a naturalised British Citizen in 1947.
[1][4] He was also, however, an active and successful member of the British art world, exhibiting from 1916 at the Royal Academy,[1] as well as at the Royal Scottish Academy,[2] with the National Portrait Society[5] and regional art galleries.
[2] Matsuyama’s subject matter ranged from floral still lifes and interiors to delicate representations of the English countryside, often carefully annotated with date and location.