“Oh, yes. The ax refers to the yoki, the small hatchet used to chop firewood; the zither to the koto, the thirteen stringed musical instrument; and the chrysanthemum is the flower kiku. Originally, they were the three sacred treasures of Nasu Shrine. As you can see, when the words are spoken together, yokikotokiku, they are homonymous with ‘we hear good tidings.’
