Heian (Classical) Period (800-1186): About the time of the First Crusades, Japan's Heian Era, which was depicted so skillfully in The Tale of Genji, is coming to its end. This marks the end of a period of great material prosperity, of learning and the arts. As suggested in The Tale of Genji, the ruling classes are not so interested in the arts of government and war. They stay enclosed in a tight circle of high refinement and pleasure. Literature is largely the work of women. The The Tale of Genji is written towards the end of the Heian period.