The early eleventh century

 "The early eleventh century was a time when eastern Europe was doing better culturally than western Europe, and east Asia may have been doing better than either. Depending on definitions, western Europe had just emerged from or was about to emerge from the Dark Ages. Romanesque styles still prevailed. High Gothic would not come for another two centuries. The great early English literary endeavor, Beowulf, was two centuries in the past. Nothing more of great moment, except to specialists, would come until Chaucer, almost four centuries after the likely date of Genji.

It is arguable that Japan was enjoying a more golden age than China. The great T'ang period, ever since which, many a pessimistic Chinese will tell a person, China has been in decline, ended in 907. Japan was then a little over a century into the Heian period, its finest time."

From Introduction to The Tale of Genji. This work of Japanese literature was perhaps written sometime in early eleventh century.