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「そこで、名前を変えるには、改名の披露というものをしないといけない。いいか。それはな、首へ市蔵と書いたふだをぶらさげて、私は以来市蔵と申しますと、口上を云って、みんなの所をおじぎしてまわるのだ。」

I have three questions about the bold characters.

  1. I assume that それはな = それ + は + な, NOT それ + はな. So is な here being used similarly to its role as a sentence-ending particle? e.g. "If that is agreeable,"
  2. What does みんなの所 mean in this context? I took it mean "each person's place/where each person is".
  3. Why is おじぎして using を and not に?
    Wouldn't "bowing towards each person's place" make more sense than "bowing to each person's place" since the subject (presumably) isn't literally bowing to the place, but the person who exists there?
    EDIT: In answer to #3, be sure to read the comments and Chocolate's linked discussions.

As always, I'd be grateful for any help.

Hyperglyph
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1 Answers1

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  1. それはな / それはね

The な and ね usages here are softeners used for redundant confirmation in casual speech, equivalent to the colloquial 'ya know' in English.

  1. みんなの所

To everyone's house, place of business, etc.

  1. Why is おじぎして using を and not に?

It is not. The を is modifying まわる. It could be phrased みんなの所を回って(人に）おじぎする。Basically it is saying that your would need to visit everybody to 'pay your respects' and inform them of your new name.

BJCUAI
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  • Are you sure を is modifying まわる? According to Jisho, まわる is an intransitive verb and according to Tae Kim, intransitive verbs "_cannot_ take a direct object (the 「を」 particle)." Jisho: http://jisho.org/search/%E3%81%BE%E3%82%8F%E3%82%8B Tae Kim: http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/complete/transtype – Hyperglyph Feb 25 '18 at 00:42
  • According to Kotonoha, there are a few example sentences using this phrasing: 「いろいろな場所を回るから大変そうです。」「いろんなさくらの名 所を回る のに大忙し！」. In this usage it takes on transitive function, as opposed to 地球がまわる, etc. 'Making the rounds' is a transitive action. – BJCUAI Feb 25 '18 at 01:08
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    @Hyper As for を+intransitive verb, or the spacious を, see: https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/3243/9831 / https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/12799 / https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/6869/9831 – Chocolate Feb 25 '18 at 02:22
  • After reading those, I understand the final sentence as (roughly) "moving _through_ the cycle" of visiting everyone's house and bowing. (I guess it's implied that you're bowing to the homeowners). Thank you for the links. – Hyperglyph Feb 25 '18 at 02:51