Macrobiotics Get Chilly Reception From Wellesley

Michio Kushi, whose East-West Institute brought macrobiotic food to Cambridge last year, has moved to Wellesley. But his attempts to re-establish his Institute there have not been welcomed by town officials.

Kushi's institute, and especially its diet, consisting mostly of rice and flour, attracted a consderable following in Cambridge last winter. Kushi said that seven or eight Harvard students were still regular patrons of the institute, that others attended lectures without taking part in the diet, and that he did not think his move to Wellesley more than a month ago had cut down on his Harvard following.

Kushi explained that he moved from Cambridge because be needed a bigger house for students who wanted to live at the institute. Cambridge officials had charged him with operating his home as a lodging house without a license. He said that he had thought his landlord's license sufficient.

It's Education

Cambridge zoning authorities were also unhappy that Kushi's institute, an educational institution, was in an area zoned for residential housing.

In Wellesley Kushi's zoning problems have continued. The town's Board of Selectmen told Kushi last week that selling food to his pupils would make the institute a business enterprise, though it is located in an education zone. They also pointed out that he will need a lodging house permit.

Kushi offered to discontinue his dietary program, which he said is "only one part of any Oriental culture." But one member of the board suggested that Kushi look for another area where he would not have to limit his program to stay within the law. "It would be best for all of us if you went away," the board member added.

Racial Discrimination

Kushi claimed that part of Wellesley's objection to him is based on racial discrimination. He said he felt that dscrimination had led a local newspaper to refuse to print an advertisement for his Flower Arranging course.

The East-West Institute offers lectures in Oriental philosophy and culture as well as macrobiotic meals. Kushi's latest bulletin lists such courses as Japanese Language and Literature. Tea Ceremony and Flower Arrangement, Aikido (a traditional Japanese martial art), Oriental Cocking, and Oriental Philosophy and its Applications.

Kushi gald after the meeting that he will look for another place, but in the meantime will apply for a lodging house permit and start his courses in the institute, leaving out the food program at present