Ume Matsuzaka is a 24-year-old kindergarten teacher responsible for the Rose Class at Futaba Kindergarten. While maintaining a stylish public image, she faces significant financial struggles privately, residing in a low-cost apartment and often subsisting on budget meals like noodles and lettuce near month's end. She harbors a dislike for her given name "Ume" due to its perceived association with being "low class." Despite expressing frequent frustration with her job and occasionally threatening to quit, Ume demonstrates deep loyalty to Futaba Kindergarten, notably rejecting a suitor who mocked the institution while offering her a better position.

Her romantic life is a recurring focus, often complicated by disruptions from Shinnosuke and his friends. Significant relationships include Kawaguchi, Dr. Tokuro, and later Shingo Kakeda. The manga depicts the tragic end of her relationship with Tokuro, who dies in a South American terrorist attack, plunging Ume into a depressive state with suicidal thoughts. She has two sisters: Matsu, the eldest, who favors traditional attire, and Take, the second eldest, who prefers Western-style clothing; both frequently interfere in Ume's romantic pursuits.

Ume possesses notable acrobatic abilities, attributed to past dance classes, which she employs to avoid damaging her clothing during falls. She maintains a competitive rivalry with fellow teacher Midori Ishizaka but secretly cares for her, assisting in reconciling Midori with her future husband, Junichi Ishizaka. Ume Matsuzaka does not appear in the film "Crayon Shin-chan: Otakebe! Kasukabe Yasei Ōkoku" and is not involved in its storyline concerning the Nohara family and Mayor Mamoru Shizime's ecological plot involving a human-to-animal transformation serum.