A strong supporter of education, he donated a large property in downtown Tokyo to create the Hongo Gakuin school.

In 1933, he was made Vice-President of the House of Peers, breaking with the precedent that only men with the rank of princes or marquis could service in the highest level positions.

Four years later, when Fumimaro Konoe became Prime Minister of Japan, Yorinaga Matsudaira became the President of the House of Peers.

Around two hundred specimens were preserved by his widow, who wrote an article for the 1953 Handbook on Dwarf Potted Trees issued by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

In 1975, she published a book in Japanese, Matsudaira Mame Bonsai Collection Album, which included photos of the couple.