I came to Imabari, a small town in southwest Japan, invited by a distant relative whose family has produced towels in the region for generations. Imabari’s economy, once threatened by globalization and the decline of small businesses, has been sustained through adaptive strategies that transformed vulnerability into resilience. This study examines three approaches: specialization, integration, and investment in human capital, and considers how they might inform the renewal of struggling industries in the United States and other contexts.